Scenic New Mexico

I always thought New Mexico was full of sand and rocks, and not much else. I didn't expect much out of this part of the trip, but I was floored by some of the natural wonders I saw. The pictures I've taken do absolutely no justice whatsoever to the beauty and magnificence of the vast landscapes. I highly recommend taking a week's vacation sometime and coming down here to drive around to see all the sights--I wish I could spend more time (and money) here!

After leaving Austin on Tuesday, I headed west and cut across Texas. Let me tell ya, there is *nothing* in West Texas--vast plains, no mountains, abandoned oil pumps. I turned north at Ft. Stockton and headed to Carlsbad, where I stayed and saw the Carlsbad Caverns the next morning. The caverns were awesome--I only toured the 'Big Room', but if I had the time I would've taken one of the 3-hour guided tours to one of the closed-off caverns. Pictures below and more in my Album, but again, the pictures don't do them justice.

Then I visited White Sands National Monument near Alamagordo. It was stunning. It's a park with dunes as far as the eye can see of white sand. The sands are from the gypsum layers in the surrounding mountains, and thousands of years of rain and crystal formation created this white desert. I started to hike the 4.5 mile trail to the Alkali Salt Flats which I really wanted to see, but it started to get dark, and being alone and lost in the middle of the desert was not what I wanted to experience on this trip (maybe next time), so I headed back.

I also met and got to know a fellow wanderer out here. Carol (pictured right) flew in from DC to Tuscon, rented a car, and was touring the Southwest for a couple of weeks. She was doing this on her own, so we had a bit in common and swapped stories of all our travels. We took a sunset tour of the dunes, got to know each other over dinner, and even headed West together the next day and saw some lava flows on the way to Socorro, where we parted ways to continue our trips. It was really cool to meet someone who could appreciate the beauty of the sights, sounds, and smells of just being out in the open, surrounded by mountains, and under a big blue sky. That she travelled out here from DC just to see and experience it all gave her lots of points in my book...that and being attractive :)

The drive through New Mexico was worth it. I saw mountains backdropped by a blue sky, a lightening storm in the New Mexico plains, immense caverns, a unique desert, and met a cool gal. Couldn't ask for anything more given I expected almost nothing. But that's all for New Mexico, I'm off to Arizona to see the Grand Canyon and other stuff, and hopefully I'll be in Phoenix by Friday night. Until then, here are some pics from Carlsbad Caverns, and again, you can find more in my Photo Album.