New Mexico Travel Answers

There is the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. It consists of several different ruins. The best known is probably Gran Quivira. Most of them are along Route 55 heading southeast from Albuquerque. There is also the Isleta Pueblo just south of Albuquerque and several sites going west on Interstate 40 (which would be out of your way).

Check out this webpage from the National Park Service. http://www.nps.gov/sapu/

It's out of the way but, yes, do Carlsbad if you have the time. It's very cool. But, unfortunately, there's not much else near there. There's a lesser-known pictographs site east of El Paso called Hueco Tanks. It's smaller, but it's still pretty nice: tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/find... There's also Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque. You could skip Carlsbad and head west. See the Acoma Pueblo, El Malpais and El Morro, then head south to the VLA and back east to Socorro and down to El Paso. There's also a very beautiful stretch of road along US 380 or US 82 east of Alamogordo in the Sacramento Mountains. You could make a White Sands a stop that way, which is totally worth the trip. hth

Dear Basaic and bocmaxima, Thank you very much for your fast replies! I feel like I should start planning another trip to New Mexico ASAP. Maybe in the spring. White Sands seem to be in a direction of Carlsbad , so if you think it is a must, I'm all for it! Thank you again, Olga

Have a great trip. I look forward to seeing your tips and photos from the trip. J

Dear Olga, If you really really have your heart set on Carlsbad, then go there. But if you want to see some anasazi ruins, you will be in much prettier country. I drove from Albuquerque to Canyon de Chelly in a few hours. You can hire a navajo guide and see a lot of cliff dwellings. You could come back via Chaco - it isn't far. The scenery in that part of the state is a lot prettier than in the south. You can drive from Chaco to El Paso in 7 hours. Carlsbad is nice, but there are caverns all over the world. The scenery in Navajo country is unique and wonderful.

Olga, you have already gotten some good suggestions. I am just thinking about what I would do in 4 days at that time of year. Chaco and Canyon de Chelly are really good but I would definitely stick to southern NM in the winter. I have a travelogue for southern NM under Albuquerque that already mentions some of the places previously mentioned; however, you may want to consider a couple of other places. You are a bit early for the Festival of the Cranes at Bosque del Apache but I bet there will already be plenty of sandhill cranes there in early November. Rather than doing the Malpais west of Albuquerque, try the Valley of Fires near Carrizozo. Gran Quivera is nice but you may also want to do the Three Rivers Petroglyphs between Carrizozo and Tularosa. Definitely do White Sands National Monument and the space museum in Alamogordo. I think a 10-year-old would love them. You have plenty of time to do Carlsbad Caverns and maybe even Sitting Bull Falls before taking US-62/180 back to El Paso. Just realize that you are in for a lot of driving. There are many interesting places in NM but they are far apart.

I would definitely recommend a visit to Acoma pueblo. It's unique in that it's located on a mesa. It has a nice visitor center and restaurant. It's only about a 90 minute drive west from Abq. Also, as Ray says, Bosque del Apache is very interesting. There will be thousands of geese and other migrating birds there at the time of your visit, although the peak may be later in November.

Thank you, thank you for so many wonderful suggestions! I would love to go to Bosque del Apache and Three Rivers Petroglyphs! And I think it may happen! I am seriously thinking of another trip, where I can visit Acoma Pueblo, Chaco, Taos and other amazing NM places. On Ray's page I found the great dream trip suggestion (!!!) But this time I only have 3.5 days. So many places close early! And many do not work on Monday-Tuesday (like Hueco Tanks) And my dear co-workers all want souvenirs from Roswell! I hope I can buy them not only during museum hours. Space museum may be interesting, and there are 2 observatories, but it seems that they are only open through October(?). Is it possible to visit Guadalupe National Park the same day as the Caverns ? (I am afraid, it is too much, but they seem so close on a map...) Thank you all again, I am still thinking what to choose, but I am much closer to the reality now with your help. HUGS! Olga

Don't go too far out of your way to visit Roswell. I went there this summer and was pretty disappointed. There are a few souvenir stores, but they weren't great. I had envisioned a little hamlet full of outer spaced themed cafes and motels. There are a few souvenir stores and the museum in the middle of a largish town full of strip malls. The only thing we liked was the wildlife refuge on the river - very nice.

Roswell has over 60,000 people living there now and only a very, very small portion is devoted to the UFO thing. You'll find things to buy at the museum gift shop and a couple of stores in town (near the museum), but don't expect a UFO Disneyland.

I didn't have time to do both Guadalupe Nat'l park AND Carlsbad Caverns myself - but we got a late start. We drove from El Paso up past Guadalupe (we did have time to drive through it and back out for a bit) and in to Carlsbad Caverns for the day. I was with road trip warriors so we drove home to Albuquerque that night. It was a loooong day! Okay, since I L-O-V-E Three Rivers Petroglyphs ..... loads! I'd recommend this route...... Day 1: Bosque Del Apache / Owl Cafe / Carrizozo. I-25 south from the airport to Bosque Del Apache: drive the loop. Get out and walk a bit. Enjoy the migrating birds. On your way back to the freeway, head to the Owl Cafe - for their world famous green chile cheeseburgers ;) Take Hwy 380 to Carrzozo and pass through the north end of White Sands missle range (near the trinity site) and the old volcano flows at Valley of the fires. Stop for the night in Carrizozo or similar. (can go further if you have time ... can add the VLA near Socorro to the list if you want) Day 2: Carrizozo / Three Rivers / Alamagordo. Get up and head south on 54 to Three Rivers Petroglyphs. I suggest you get picnic food to eat at the petroglyph park. (FYI, if you are campers there's a wonderful campground at the end of the same road the petroglyphs are on - no power, simple campling as an alternative to staying in town the first night). I can spend a big chunk of the day wandering the roads, visiting the local church, and walking to the 'glyphs. when you are done, continue south on 54 through tularosa into Alamagordo. Find a place to spend the night. Depending on the day of the week and the phase of the moon, find out if White Sands in doing a night hike - if so GO! Other wise just hang for the night. If you are there early enough, you can hit up White Sands that day, otherwise consider it for the morning. Day 3 - White Sands / Space Museum in Alamagordo / Carlsbad Caverns - spend the night nearby. Day 4 - Guadalupe Nat'l park on your way home to El Paso. I limited the number of things a day compared to what I do. As an example, one day my best buddy and I drove to Socorro from breakfast, did the bosque del apache, drove to white sands, up through Alamoagordo to Three Rivers. We got out and wandered at each place and didn't feel rushes. It took us about 16 hours though :) Whatever you decide ... have a blast!

Dear all, So far I have a plan for the 1st 2 days(thank you all for you help!) is: Day 0:(BTW, it is a Halloween night and our son was somewhat disappointed that we going away) Arrive to ABQ, eat somewhere and drive to Grants Day 1: Acoma pueblo, then drive to Bosque del Apache - afternoon/sunset there? Spend night in Carrizozo or Alamogordo(?). Day 2: Valley of fires/ Cloudcroft (observatory)/Alamogordo(museum)/ Three Rivers(sunset? - are Three rivers better to visit in the morning or afternoon?) Drive to Carlsbad. Spend a night there//or Night in Alamogordo Day 3: Caverns and drive back to Alamogordo// or White Sands in the morning/drive to Carlsbad - last entry 2:30 for the natural entrance tour!!) Day 4: White Sands and fly home//or visit Guadalupe National park before our flight from El Paso. I hope we will make it! Olga

Day 0:(BTW, it is a Halloween night and our son was somewhat disappointed that we going away) > Arrive to ABQ, eat somewhere and drive to Grants It may be tough to find something open that late in ABQ. Last time I was there, we finally got the car out of there (thanks for the half hour in line, Hertz) a little before 11 and everything was shut. It's going to take 10 minutes minimum to get from the airport to the rental car center after having collected your luggage, then your check-in time. So, if your flight gets in at 8, I'd look more toward a 9pm exit from the airport. I know that the Frontier on Central Ave is open until 1am every night. Kelly's on Central would also probably be open, but maybe not their kitchen, and it turns into more of a bar at night, especially on Fridays. > Acoma pueblo, then drive to Bosque del Apache - afternoon/sunset there? You won't get a great sunset at Bosque. It's kind of in a hole. Valley of Fire area would be better. > Spend night in Carrizozo or Alamogordo(?). There's really only one motel in Carrizozo and it kinda sucks. Get to Alamogordo if you can. > Day 2: Valley of fires/ Cloudcroft (observatory)/Alamogordo(museum)/ Bosque del Apache + Valley of Fire shouldn't take you that long, so there's no real reason to backtrack to it from anywhere. Bosque's only interesting if there are birds out there, and Valley of Fire is dramatic, but there's nothing to do for very long. You want the space museum in Alamogordo? Your son will like it. There's also a small zoo in Alamogordo, if you're interested. > Drive to Carlsbad. Spend a night there//or Night in Alamogordo Consider Artesia. If you can get past the oil refinery in town (most people can't) it's actually a really cute, very Estacado (that region of NM) town. You can check the Heritage Inn (http://www.artesiaheritageinn.com/) as it's the best place in town, or you can do the Holiday Inn Express there. You could also stay in Cloudcroft. There's the historic inn there (http://www.thelodgeresort.com/) but also several other places. Late October is an off-season, so you should be able to get a pretty good rate. Or, if you have to, stay in Carlsbad. 40 minutes from Artesia. But between Cloudcroft and Artesia there is, literally, nothing. Do White Sands the morning of Day 2 (it's spectacular!) and spend some time at Guadalupe Mountains. However, don't plan too much time at the latter because it's really more of a hiking national park and they don't have a whole lot else to see or do. You can check out Hueco Tanks on your way to El Paso, if you'd like (tpwd.state.tx.us/park/hueco/.... An alternative you may like, that no one ever seems to see because it's a little off the highway, are the alkali flats near Jal. I've got directions to it on this tip (use Derrick Road near the airport as a short-cut to 285 from 62), but keep in mind that they may not be as dramatic as you see in the pictures when you go because of rainfall amounts. "Alkali Flats" - Carlsbad Off The Beaten Path Tip by bocmaxima The EP airport is on the road from Carlsbad (62-180), so it'll be easy to reach for you.

Olga,0 sounds fine. Day one - I'd look at staying in Socorro area. You could see the VLA (have you ever seen the movie Contact? LOL) if you get there early enough. I think sunset at the Bosque del Apache would be very nice. Day 2- Valley of fires, Carrizozo, Three Rivers, Alamagordo. with an early start, you can walk the trail in Three Rivers and get to Alamagordo by lunch for the museum. I've not been to the observatory so can't help you there .... Day 3: go to White Sands early in the day, and then drive to the Caverns. Spend as much time there as you can, and stay the night in White city or Carlsbad. YOu can see the small zoo, or river play area/park if you have time. Day 4: The caverns if you didn't get there the day before, or a return if you really liked it the first time. Guadalupe Nat'l park and El Paso :) Here's an example of the route part one of map: mapquest.com/maps?1pn=abq&2c... part 2 of map: mapquest.com/maps?1c=White+S... Hope this works, and helps you figure out which route will work best for you.. Enjoy your trip :)

Dear super knowleageable travellers, Thank you!!! Now I ned to digest all this info and look for hotels. HUGS! Olga

Day 0: ...If you arrive at 8pm there will be many places to eat that are only 2 miles north from the AP. The Frontier is very informal with a wide variety of food, icluding good New Mexican (try the chicken enchiladas). It is at Central Ave. and Cornell across from the UNM book store. About a mile further east on Central is the Flying Star Cafe which has great food too, including great coffee and desserts. Both restaurants are very popular and open late. Why are you going to Grants? It's a little out of your way. If you want to stay near Acoma, there is a hotel, Sky City Casino Hotel, within a few miles of the visitor center...check out their web site and rates. Also, Acoma is only about a little over an hour from ABq so you could stay in abq also. Day 1: When you drive from Acoma to Soccoro you can take route 6 shortcut which connects I-40 to Los Lunas on I-25, so you don't have to come back tharough Abq.

Olga, I don’t think you have time to do much backtracking since you really have only 3.5 days. Let me suggest a simplified itinerary for you. Stay in Albuquerque the first night (31st). The Frontier and the Flying Star restaurants are excellent suggestions. You could eat at the K&I Diner the next morning. Drive to Acoma Pueblo (~ 1-1.5 hrs). Take the tour, have lunch at the casino, and then back to I-25 via the NM-6 shortcut (good tip; I did not know this myself). You want to be at Bosque del Apache in the evening, not so much for the sunset (which I think can be impressive; see the lead photo in my Albuquerque travelogue on southern NM) but for the birds. It is when they all return after being out feeding in the valley during the day. Spend the night in Socorro (1st) after dinner at the Owl Café in San Antonio. The next day see the Valley of Fires and Three Rivers Petroglyphs. If you have time, stop at the Space Museum in Alamogordo. You want to be at the White Sands National Monument in the late afternoon and for the evening tour if they still have it in November. Note that it will cool off very quickly in the evening that time of year. Spend the night in Alamogordo (2nd). You can drive through Cloudcroft on the way to Carlsbad, but you won’t have time for the Sunspot observatory, which is not far in distance but is a slow drive due to the winding road. Drive to Carlsbad Caverns via Artesia, Carlsbad, and White City. You definitely want to make it in time for the last natural entrance tour. Spend the night (3rd) in White’s City (closer to El Paso) or Carlsbad (has a nice park on the river). Get an early start on the 4th and drive to El Paso (~3 hrs) in time to check in the car and catch your 1 PM flight. You can take a quick look at Guadalupe Peak as you drive by. You will need to return when you have more time to see all the other good things people have suggested.

Alas...the entire White's City was sold at auction in July 2008. R.I.P.