New Mexico

[Richman_]

We are going to Albuquerque next week pulling 28.5 travel trailer with chevy Tahoe. We would like to see Carlsbad caverns, white sands, hatch, Santa Fe and Taos. Any recommendations where to stay, things to do along the way, we only want to drive about 3 hours a day.

[LenSatic]

A warning if you have dogs, New Mexico has to be the goat-head capital of the US. Our dog had them in all 4 paws and, obviously, was unable to lift them all at the same time. We apparently brought some home and they are now growing around our property. Vicious, evil, things!

[mobeewan]

Vvvv1010 wrote:
If you are interested in 80-85 degree weather in June, I would go to Ruidoso, NM and Cloudcroft, NM.

From Ruidoso and Cloudcroft, (as others have mentioned) you are within distance to Three Rivers, Carlsbad, and Roswell, NM.

Just west of Roswell on the Mescalero Apache Indian reservation on the way to Ski Apache ski resort on Mt Sierra Blanca there is an RV park called Eagle Creek RV Resort on Ski Run Rd and further towards Ski Apache there looks to be a primitive RV campground. I've seen it on satellite views.

I remember when my dad was stationed at Holloman AFB, north of El Paso you could see the mountain from the base. It would be covered with snow from October to June. We didn't travel around NM while there but I'm looking at taking a trip out west in the next year or two and wanted to do southeast NM from Carlsbad up to Ft Sumner and White Sands up to Trinity Site.

I saw a YouTube video about a zip line at Ski Apache that is a 3 section zip line. The first run is about a mile long. I called and it runs about $80 dollars to do the zip line. There is a weight limit of about 240 lbs so I need to loose about 80 lbs before I get there.:B

[mobeewan]

Second Chance wrote:

2oldman wrote:
Of course oil, but I meant what part.. we aren't drilling in Carlsbad caverns are we? :E

No - there's a north-south pipeline under construction east of there.

Rob

There is also a vast oil field that runs from the Midland/Odessa, Texas area across the border into New Mexico. It runs from the South New Mexico/Texas border in Eastern New Mexico on the east side of the Sacramento mountains to east of Roswell and up to Clovis and over into the Texas pan handle.

It has probably become more profitable to pump oil and drill new Wells.

When I was a kid my dad was in the air Force stationed at Holloman AFB, New Mexico next to White Sands. He was from Texas we would drive from Holloman over to Hobbs NM,over to Midland TX and on over to visit family in San Angelo to visit my adult sister, one of my aunts and her family and visit my grand mother and an uncle in Brady. I remember seeing lots of oil Wells between Artesia and Hobbs and more on to Midland. You can see the clusters of Wells on satellite images and more on up to Clovis.

[travelbayshore1]

We were in Carlsbad, NM in May. We stayed at the Carlsbad RV Park - which I think was formerly KOA. We called on Friday and made reservations for Sunday-Monday. Most of the sites are occupied by the workers, but there were several available for short-term stays. Very nice park. It was several miles from the Caverns, but I think it was the better option as far as campgrounds were concerned.

At the Caverns, the elevators were working when we were there. Actually, an elevator technician rode it with us when we went down. Said they were working on another one.

If you happen to need a campsite near Albuquerque, we stayed at the Happy Trails RV Park in Moriarty, NM. They are new owners and are doing a great job to make it a great stop for us RVers. It is east of Albuquerque just off I-40. Happy Travels!!

[Vvvv1010]

If you are interested in 80-85 degree weather in June, I would go to Ruidoso, NM and Cloudcroft, NM.

From Ruidoso and Cloudcroft, (as others have mentioned) you are within distance to Three Rivers, Carlsbad, and Roswell, NM.

[PenMan]

I can't add much to what others have said. You don't say how much time you plan to spend in NM but to see the places you mentioned you will be doing a lot of driving. You may want to divide the state into three regions (northern, central and southern) and do day trips without the trailer.

[BB_TX]

If the cavern elevators are out of service, I would not recommend going unless your entire party is in very good physical condition. Walking down the natural entrance I highly recommend. But it is long and steep. And would be a challenge to walk back out.

Apparently they are back in service though.

[jfkmk]

One of my favorite stops was at 3 Rivers petroglyphs site. More than 20000 petroglyphs that you can hike among.

[Second_Chance]

Oh - forgot to mention... the elevators at the Caverns broke down again late March/early April meaning a 3-5 - 4 hour walk down (700 ft. elevation change) and back out again. The elevators are about 65 years old, they won't run either when the other is not operational, and the parts are hard to get. If you're not up to the challenge (or have small children), check in advance.

Rob

[dblr]

In Santa Fe we used the Trailer Park Ranch and in Taos we stayed at the Taos Valley RV Park, in town but a very nice park. There are wild fires over near Angle Fire right now so might want to watch that.

[LenSatic]

I can help with Hatch. If you are shopping for chilies go to Hatch Chile Sales across from the Pepper Pot restaurant. Either we or our son goes through there a couple of times a year and they have the best prices and service that we have found. The Pepper Pot and Sparky's are both good for food.

[westend]

Richard,
There are also the "RVparks, Campgrounds, and Attractions" and "Roads and Routes" sections of this Forum. Destinations and routes are discussed in those and there are many friendly folks to help (not that you haven't found some here :C).

Have a good time on your trip!

[Thom02099]

If you consider staying north, you certainly should consider Chama, NM and the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad, which runs between Chama and Antonito, CO. Several options (and prices) available; taking the train from Chama to Antonito and a bus back; taking a bus to Antonito and the train back to Chama; or taking the train up to Osier one way, and then taking it back down the same way, but different train. Plan on a full day and amazing scenery. The train crosses the CO-NM border multiple times as it winds the 54 miles between the 2 towns.

[Traver8]

As others have said, NM is a pretty spread out state and you should consider a regional visit as an option. Like Second Chance has said finding any kind of RV spot down in the Southeast corner can be difficult due to the oilfield and pipeline activity. I commute through Carlsbad frequently and most of the RV "parks" have No Vacancy signs out. Even the bare gravel lots that they call parks.

However, if you do make it to Carlsbad and the caverns please save some time to drive another 45min Southwest to Guadalupe Mountains NP and see the highest point in TX. Spend some time at the visitor center and try to visit the Frijole Ranch site to see how folks lived when the area was being settled.

Let me know if you have specific questions about the area, I am living in my trailer here now.

Terry