Carlsbad, New Mexico
Not much to see in Carlsbad where the second part of our road trip began. We did get to stay in a former bank which was converted into a beautiful hotel.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Carlsbad Caverns National Park was the next on our national park list. After a brief orientation, we were sent off down the path into the entrance to the cave.
The cool thing about Carlsbad Caverns is you can either descend through the natural entrance and walk the entire 3 mile length of the cave, or take an elevator down to the main room. We decided to walk down then take the elevator out.
Looking back up at the entrance to the cave.
Lots of cool formations. Carlsbad Caverns is over 30 miles long, with only about a 3 mile section open to the public, and is at times up to 1,000 feet deep.
The paths were very well built and maintained, and we were happy to see they didn’t have flashy, colorful lights and tacky music like some caves we’ve seen.
A scary looking side cavern.
Roswell, New Mexico
Our plans changed a little bit, giving us a free day with no plans. We decided to take a little trip up to Roswell to see what the hype is about.
Everything is UFO themed in Roswell.
The UFO museum…lots of interesting exhibits and information, but the most fun was watching the people that were really into this UFO thing.
Alien autopsy exhibit.
Even the McDonalds was UFO themed.
While it was a fun escape from the National Parks for a day, Roswell is definitely not a place I would revisit.
Guadalupe Mountains National Forest
Next stop, Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas. We were originally supposed to climb the highest peak in Texas which is in the Guadalupe Mountains, but Thu’s ankle kept us from that hike, so we just stopped, took a few pictures and moved on. This is definitely our least favorite national park that we’ve seen so far.
We had a short burro traffic jam. Funny how people get angry in normal traffic, but if it’s caused by animals, people love it.
A beautiful Texas sunset.
Big Bend National Park
Our final national park was Big Bend National Park, Texas. We arrived early to beat the crowds and heat, and watched a nice sunrise over the Chisos Mountains.
Santa Elena Canyon is a 1,500 foot limestone canyon carved by the Rio Grande and our first stop in Big Bend.
One side of the canyon is the US, the other is Mexico. A really beautiful spot especially in the morning when the light is low.
After Santa Elena Canyon we took the scenic drive through Big Bend with incredible views of the Chisos Mountains.
Mule Ears Peak
We wanted to do a short hike in Big Bend, so we decided to do the Balanced Rock hike. At only about 2.5 miles round trip, this wasn’t a challenge, but the heat was rising so we had to be quick.
Some uniquely colored lizards.
Most of the hike was flat, but nearing the end there is a steep rise and the views started to open up.
It seemed like everywhere we went in Texas there were birds circling overhead.
We reached Balanced Rock and spent quite a while climbing around the fun rocky mountainside.
Balanced rock looks like it was created by the old Disney artists who snuck questionable imagery into their animations.
Always entertaining when the lizards do some pushups!
The heat was rising fast so we scrambled down and got back to our nice air conditioned car.
The Summit at Big Bend
Just outside Big Bend, the area is growing and several unique AirB&B properties are being built. We chose to stay at one of the originals and it was quite a treat. These domes are made for star gazing. Texas skies are big and clear at night and the domes have a roof that you can open and stare up into the sky without leaving your bed. They also have fire pits and lookout spots for each dome.
The view from inside the dome.
The sky was mostly cloudy, but during the night it opened up and we saw a beautiful night sky.
What a great way to spend our final night of the trip!
On the final day in Texas, we just had to make the drive up to El Paso. It was a really scenic drive.
Outside of Marfa we found the Prada installation. It looks like a store, but is actually a permanent “sculpture” built in 2005.
El Paso, our final stop. While in Texas we had to try the barbecue. Not a bad ending to a very fun trip.