As I mentioned in my last post, my S(elf)A(ppointed)T(rainer) and I spent the Thanksgiving holiday weekend seeing lots of new things. Our original plan was to camp overnight in White Sands National Monument, check out the Carlsbad Caverns, and see whatever other interesting things along the way as appropriate. Well, like many a well-intentioned plan, ours fell apart. SAT was hesitant about driving more hours to get to Carlsbad Caverns, then facing a massive drive home….also, he was playing the “I have so much work to do” game and wanted to get back home early enough to have a bit of time left in the weekend to clean up and do those adult-y things before the work week begins, like grocery shopping and laundry. Therefore, we (that is, me) came up with a revised itinerary: White Sands, Las Cruces, and a roadrunner.

We reached White Sands around 1:30pm on Friday. (Fact #1: White Sands National Monument neighbours a couple of NASA missile ranges. Make sure to check the White Sands website for closures, because if there is missile testing, the Monument is closed to the public.) As my title indicates, there were no planes (or missiles)! When we arrived, we noticed that there were hundreds of people there too. Looks like holiday weekends make national monuments popular. (Fact #2: if you want to secure one of the 10 first-come, first-served primitive campsites, arrive by 11am or noon at the latest. We arrived around 1:30pm and did not secure a campsite.) Therefore, we decided to do the longest hike in the monument (5 miles) and play in the sand along the way.

White Sands is amazing. As the name suggests, the sand is white. As the sun was setting, the sun’s rays cast a lovely golden glow over the sand.

I had previously looked up the GPS coordinates of a few free primitive camping spots as potential places to camp for the night. (“Primitive” campsites are exactly that. There is no water, running or otherwise, no bathrooms/outhouses, nothing. You need to bring everything you need to survive, like food, water, and a tent…..and you need to “pack out” all trash, including human waste. But….it’s free!) My SAT was NOT looking forward to finding the primitive campsite in the dark (it was now after sunset), setting up the tent in the dark, or trying to sleep in a cold tent. Therefore, to appease his delicate nature, we ended up getting a room in nearby Alamogordo. Upside: cheap rate, really clean, reliable wi-fi. Downside: queen bed (SAT thinks we got a double bed) and the loud trains that rumbled nearby nearly every hour. SAT didn’t get much sleep due to the trains. He is a very light sleeper. The trains only woke me up once. I am a very good sleeper.

The next morning, we drove out to Las Cruces to check out a cool coffee shop, farmer’s market, and the historic Mesilla plaza, just outside of Las Cruces. The plaza had a number of cute touristy shops featuring chocolate, jewelry, and other such knickknacks.

(L to R: Mark charging himself up at the Tesla charging station in Las Cruces, NM; Basilica San Albino Catholic Church in Mesilla Plaza; a shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mesilla Plaza)

As we were leaving Mesilla Plaza, I was looking out for the famous “recycled roadrunner.” Very soon, we realized we were on the wrong side of the freeway….so we drove our one automobile to the nearest exit off of the freeway and drove a mile or so in the other direction to the rest stop in between mileposts 134 and 135. According to roadsideamerica.com, the roadrunner is worth a detour. Also, the rest stop is an award-winning one! I have no idea why the rest stop is considered “award-winning,” but the roadrunner is pretty cool.

New Mexico is a pretty interesting state. Next time, we will make sure we arrive at White Sands in the morning to secure a campsite and we will DEFINITELY visit Carlsbad Caverns.