I <3 New Mexico and Texas! The region is beautiful everywhere you look, the food is great, and the people are friendly! Would go again 100%!
The plan was to cover as much as possible in the short duration I was there.
Day 1
Landed in ABQ, and started heading south. The main attractions that I was interested in were the white sands national monument, guadalupe, and the carlsbad caverns. The drive was long, so I took some breaks in between through which I discovered cool new places!
The first place I visited was Salinas Pueblo National Monument - we discovered archeological remains of Indian civilization. Walking through it, I could imagine how life might have been there a few hundred years ago. There were also periods of colonization where we could find churches, that might have been built when people were travelling through the silk route. It seems like Kivas (circularly shaped places of worship) were predominant during the era, and can be found everywhere amongst the ruins.
Day 2
I started off my day visiting the valley of fire. This one came as a surprise. Apparently lava can defuse through earth (without an eruption), and can cool off, forming a layer of black rocks, which has a much different characteristic than the surrounding environment. Hence, the name, “valley of fire”. In this region, we can see different types of flora and fauna than the surrounding areas.
Following this, I really wanted to visit the site where the first nuclear bomb was detonated. However, the area was shut-down as the tours occur only twice a year (lack of preparation on my part!).
I wasn’t disappointed for long when I finally arrived at White Sands national monument. When I was at the center of it, it was white as far as my eyes could see! Apparently this can be seen from the internaltional space station using nothing but your naked eyes! :O
Day 3
This was one of the most packed days. Started off by getting to Guadaluper peak. I was able to clearly see the curvature of earth from the top (so long, flat-earthers!).
In the evening, I was able to get to Carlsbad caverns just in time to see the beautiful formations of sediments within the caves.
Day 4
Are we alone in the universe? Rosswell, NM seem to think so! I just took some time to see the goofy exhibits in the city before heading out to another ruins at Pecos National Monument (yea, Carlsbad to Santa Fe doesn’t have a lot of touristy-things to do).
Finally, reached my AirBnB at Santa Fe and settled into the jacuzzi, star gazing.
Day 5
The first thing I did was to visit Kasha-Katuwe national park - these are just natural, odd, tent-shaped formations. Following this, I visited Meow Wolf - another strange, odd place to be. Meow wolf is magical and artistic and makes you feel like your out of this world. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves -
Day 6
Just chilling in Santa Fe - went on a walking tour, followed by some art museums, soaking the culture in. The distinct adobe architecture, beautiful churches (and the interesting spiral staircase with no pillar support) and seeing the (spooky) Oppenheimer’s office made my day.
Day 7
Ghost ranch is slightly north of Santa Fe, but is quite the place to be. The environment looks like it was taken straight from a West World scene! Also, they had a history museum which showcased an actual skull of a T-Rex!
Following Ghost Ranch, I visited Bandelier National Monument - another Indian civilization which also featured housing in rock-caves as seen here -
Day 8
I spent my last day of the trip in ABQ again - where I went to the top of Sandia mountains and visited Walter White’s house from breaking bad (not inside - it’s actually private property) before heading back to Seattle.
What an adventure!
