If you’re going to Carlsbad, you can stay at Guadalupe Mountains National Park since it is cheap and majestic. Ironically if the campgrounds are full it doesn’t seem particularly quiet at night but that is because there are no other sounds to drown out the talking. But if you walk just outside of the campgrounds, even if you are not in the shape to hike, you’ll feel all alone in a splendid valley. It’s right on the road between El Paso and Carlsbad so it is worth it just to stop there and look around if you’re passing by.
I’ll third Meow Wolf. I stopped at Santa Fe last time I was out west specifically to see Meow Wolf and it was totally worth it.
I lucked out. I didn’t even know the site was opened for visits at all. But my planned PCS travel route from Georgia to Alaska in 2014 happened to put me in the area in April, precisely on the weekend it was open. Someone here on the SDMB mentioned it, and I made sure to stop there. So glad I got to visit. I mean, it’s just a small obelisk in the middle of the desert, but definitely worth going to see. Just to be there.
My wife and went to El Paso last spring. We went to Carlsbad Caverns. Well worth the trip. Just outside El Paso is a state park called Hueco Tanks. (Hueco is pronounced Waco). The “tanks” refer to large depressions in the rocks that hold rainwater for months. A reliable source of water during the dry season and hence a very important place in local history. Today, it is an excellent place for free climbing. The rock faces range from moderate to hard and people come from all over the world come to practice. When we were there a young German man was hiking into the hills with a large foam mattress on his back. Along with a friend they were going out into the hills to practice. Definitely worth a visit and on the way from El Paso to Carlsbad. If you go to Carlsbad, plan on staying in a motel or BB in Artesia. It isn’t that far from Carlsbad and 1l2 the price.
Wheelz, are you returning to El Paso after Alamogordo? If so, some of the stuff I and others mentioned might be better off for that last leg. You can head from Alamogordo to Las Cruces (stop at White Sands of course), and take I-10 south, hitting Chopes.
I find Roswell silly but if you like tourist trappy alien stuff, it’s not that far out of your way.
Heading up to into the mountains east of Alamogordo will give you a very different view of NM than what you get from the highway. Ruidoso and Cloudcroft are the two towns most people know. It feel strange to go for a short walk in a pine forest with aspen groves, then turn a corner over the ridge and you have cactus, yucca, and mesquite as far as the eye can see.
If you do want to visit Hueco tanks, do look at the website I linked to. They limit how many people can come in each day and you often need a reservation during rock-climbing season.
I’ll second the White Sands Missile Museum. I’ll also second the Big Texan Steak Ranch. It’s touristy but in a very fun way and has really good meals and craft beer at decent prices.
Lubbock has several things to see. I say this as a person who has visited the sites listed below while visiting my son (about to graduate from Texas Tech but probably has never visited any of these!) I’ll skip the wineries as they all seem to blend together for me.
The Buddy Holly center was OK but would be lower on the list as time permits
Las Cruces was originally on the itinerary, until their team folded *after *the season schedule had been released. Such is life in the Indie Leagues. And Las Cruces was the visiting team for our scheduled Roswell stop. We had to do a bit of rearranging, and there were no other Roswell home games that fit the route. It’s not really on the way to anywhere, so without stopping there for the night we’ll probably skip it.
We have a late afternoon flight out of El Paso, which is about an hour and a half from Alamogordo. (Las Cruces was to be the last night, which is only about 45 minutes.) So there’ll be a little time available that day, but I don’t want to try to pack too much in on getaway day.
To everyone, thanks for all the suggestions. Keep ‘em comin’. We’ll pack as many in as we reasonably can.
Ok in that case you could still hit White Sands, as the Nat’l Monument is closer to 'gordo than Cruces. And you won’t have to go through the [del]skin check[/del] border patrol checkpoint on 70 if you just double back and take 54 back to ELP.
In Santa Fe, the “Miraculous Staircase” in the Loretto Chapel. (Regardless of whether you believe in the miracle or not, the staircase is worth a look.) Loretto Chapel - Wikipedia
And in floor-length habits, too. Still it could have been worse. The staircase was built because there wasn’t any other way of reaching the choir loft. It’s believed the architect (who died before the chapel was completed) was copying a basic design of some chapels in Europe in which monks climbed ladders up to the choir loft.
Glenrio, a “ghost town” right on the border. I think people live there, because it is maintained, but I never see anyone
If you take 66 west out of Glenrio it is a neat dirt road for about 18 miles into San Jon, NM
If you take I 40 stop at Russel’s travel center, they have a neat free car and memorabilia museum
Tucumcari is a neat drive thru of the old route, cool motels, watch out for the speed trap
Santa Rosa has a really nice car museum
Morarity has a really funky car truck and memorabilia museum right at the east end of town. It’s YUGE but it isn’t so much a museum as a collection. I like it, but it doesn’t have any interpretation of what everything is. but it is fascinating.
Depending on how much time you have and how far you want to go off your path, you could go see the VLA. It is 50 miles east of Socorro, NM.
Spent four years in Portales, NM, came away with a degree and a wife. One has been of more use and enjoyment than the other. (Ha, not what you are thinking. I have did nothing with a double major in history and anthropology other than get into law school many years later. The wife continues to be a good deal. 10/10 would marry again.)
Eastern New Mexico University in Portales has a museum with some Clovis era artifacts. Most of the good ones are, or were, at museums with better security. Other than that, there is little reason to visit that part of the word. Pass-through on your way to between Lubbock and Roswell/Carlsbad. If you do go through Portales, the Taco Box is a good stop for lunch. Oh, watch out for tumbleweeds if it is windy.
A few years ago I was driving from Clovis, NM to Amarillo, TX and saw something I’ll never forget: a huge cattle feedlot a couple miles south of Bovina, TX on HWY 60. I had never seen so many head of cattle. The location is 34.480554, -102.921294 on Google Maps.
Oh no, stay the heck off Central. Between its usual seediness and the stupidity that is ART, it’s gotten even worse than it used to be. If you want to go to Old Town, take 40 directly to Rio Grande and head south.