New Mexico USA - Places and things to see?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m planning a driving tour of New Mexico in a few weeks.

I’ll spend two days in Albuquerque seeing the zoo/aquarium/museums, then go do the Billy the Kid thing in Ft. Sumner. After that I intend to meander down through eastern New Mexico to Ft. Davis, Texas, and then back, most likely along I-10, I-25.

What interesting sights, museums, historical stuff could I find along this route? I like small town historical museums, zoos, stuff like that. (I’m not especially interested in UFO’s. :slight_smile: )

I could change my route if anyone has suggestions for western New Mexico that intrigues me. The only thing set in stone is Albuquerque.

Thanks!

2

The Los Alamos National Laboratory used to have a very good museum that chronicled the development of the atomic bomb. Since they had the fire and new 9/11 issues, I don’t know if it is still open.

Also, just west of Taos, there is a very deep gorge that you would never know is there until you come up on it. The land is flat and the gorge just cuts through it.

3

If you want to go west of Albuquerque, there’s Acoma Pueblo, one of the oldest continually inhabited places in the US.

http://www.nmmagazine.com/NMGUIDE/acoma.html

In the foothills near Albuquerque is the Tinkertown Museum. I don’t think it’s open during the winter but here is a site on it:

In southern NM there’s always Carlsbad Caverns.

Up near Los Alamos is Bandelier National Monument, where you can see the adobes and cliff dwellings of the Anasazi.

I’ll be back as soon as I can think of more stuff.

4

You might want to check out Alamogordo.

It’s got several things to do, including the New Mexico Museum of Space History

5

In Roswell there is an art museum which is combined with the remnants of Robert H. Goddard’s lab.

http://www.roswellmuseum.org/

In the Jemez area north of Albuquerque one can take the Valle Grande tour around an extinct volcano which blew up violently millions of years ago. There are hot springs in the area and also the Las Salinas mission ruins.

http://www.nmts.org/rides/veloValleGrande.htm

6

If you can get yourself to White Sands, it is well worth it. It’s cool to stand on the white dunes and see nothing but sand.

Here are some pictures from when I was there over Thanksgiving:

http://zerneeak.com/scout/Las-Cruces

There’s also photos of Carlsbad Caverns, which was worth a look-see, too.

7

Although it’ll seem like small beans to a Coloradian, you could visit Guadalupe Peak (8749 ft), the highest point in Texas. There’s also McDonald Observatory in Ft Davis, which has a great visitor’s center and programs, including (monthly?) talks given by whichever astronomer is doing research currently. I sat on an ice-cold metal folding chair (outside temperature, according to the local news: 2 to -2 degrees Farenheit) in the dome of the 2.7m Harlan J. Smith telescope one clear December night and listened to a Danish researcher talk about searching for metal-rich stars usng spectrography.

8

Yeah, that’s one of the reasons I want to make that the turnaround point, the other being the fort. The fort is supposed to have some well-restored and furnished buildings, and an excellent buffalo soldier exhibit.

Thanks for all the good suggestions! vertizontal, Alamogordo does look interesting. It even has a zoo!

9

I’ll second a visit to Bandelier National Park. The cliff dwellings are just incredible, and yes you can go into quite a few of them. A great hike. And those cliff dwellings are ALL OVER the place! Quite Awe inspiring. And if you’re going to be in Albuquerque be sure to take the tram up Sandia Peak.

10

  1. Shiprock. An isolated volcanic peak in the middle of flat desert, up in the “Four Corners” area (northwest New Mexico), shaped much like a ship. Haunting and beautiful.

  2. Chaco Canyon. The ruins of an Indian culture from a time when there was more water. Surrounded by the Hopi reservation (so I think you still have to take a dirt road to get there). Take the time to walk from the Pueblo Bonito group (in the lower “canyon” area – famous kivas, or round ceremonial structures) up and across the upper plain to any of the other groups (built with beautiful flat stones). An easy walk. Good camping in the summertime.

11

How much of southern Colorado/Norther central NM have you seen? You could take Hampden / US285 out of Denver up through the Pine / Bailey area (my old stamping ground) and drive South Park and the San Luis Valley into Northern New Mexico.

Alternatively, leave I-25 just south of Raton and cut over to Taos on the way down to Santa Fe.

Since you’re living in Denver, you already know what “Red or Green?Hot or Mild?” means…

12

Even if you’re not a birdwatcher,Bosque Del Apache might be worth a stop. It’s considered one of the prime places to see huge numbers of migratory birds in North America. Seeing (and hearing!) thousands of geese, cranes, and other wildfowl take wing is a thrilling experience.
Petroglyph National Monument is just outside ABQ. Further south is Salinas Pueblo Missions NM, which is pretty cool.

13

As mentioned above, I heartily recommend White Sands and Carlsband Caverns. But do keep in mind that White Sands is a whole lot of, well, white sand. Though it is very beautiful, if you expect any more, you’d be disappointed.

I find Carlsbad Caverns amazing, and everytime I go, I enjoy it more. I’ve been to a few caverns others around the country, and none have remotely compared (I’m sure that’s fightin’ words to someone out there). It’s fairly deep and expansive, so it requires a fair bit of walking. There are 2 paths, a longer one, and a shortcut where you take an elevator down. Most of the interesting stuff is actually on the shorter path, but the longer one has some nice parts, and you get to walk the steep descent into the mouth of the cave which is quite neat. Apparently, watching the bats leave at nightfall is supposed to be spectacular, but unfortunately, I have yet to witness it.

Hobbs has a new horse race track that just opened up. Though the season may be over now, I’m not sure.

Many of the towns across the southeastern part have small local museums that may be of interest to you. Usually they may be historical or relate to the cowboy culture.

14

In Albuquerque there is the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History which was cool when I went there last, though that was a good number of years ago.

You might want to take the Sandia Tram which is the worlds longest aerial tramway. I am not sure if you’ll have enough time, it’s probably worth about a half day up and down. It’s been a while since I was on it (like 15 years) so I don’t remember. Great view from the top.

If you want a good Mexican dinner try Los Cuates. I really miss that place.

Slee

15

Hell, if you are going that far, you should go to Big Bend National Park. You won’t be sorry. Best seen by back country camping, sleeping under the stars.

Plan on return trips. It’s that good.

16

I hadn’t thought of Carlsbad. Sounds like I should do it.

OK, sorry all of y’all you’ve suggested points west of I-25. I think I’ve got enough to do on the east side. I’ve made notes for my next trip though, which looks like it will be northwestern NM, and southwestern Colorado. The pueblos would be nice to see.

I’m counting on the small towns having little museums. That’s one of the things I enjoy in wandering Colorado.

Sold. I’ll try it.

Dag Otto, I’m not much for camping. These days I prefer my travelling to involve restaurants and motels. Though I have heard that Big Bend is something else, it’s not my style.

Wow, I didn’t expect this much of a response. Great ideas, folks; even those I haven’t answered by name, I’m looking at your suggestions. Thanks much, to all.