Impressions of SE NM trip... (Las Cruces, Roswell: RV park, spring break, hotel)

[gabygirl]

Last week during spring break, we drove in to Las Cruces from Phoenix. Here's how our trip went:

Found out it was an hour later in LC than in Phx, so no pool time for us. Next day, we looked at the area in the NE part of town, all kinds of new developments going up. Brand new homes appx. 2000 sq. feet about $210K, not bad. We looked around Onate High, but guess they were also out for break. Nice HS, surrounded by mountains, way better location than some HS's in Phoenix.

Next we drove over to Roswell. Drove by some nice areas, like Ruidoso, very picturesque, I'll bet it's got some great night spots, the scenery is great! Lots of cops around the area, tho... Alamogordo was surprisingly small -not too much there that we saw. I didn't realize there was an AFB in the area...? No time to go down the sand dunes

Got to Roswell, drove around Main St., pleasantly surprised to see the Ten Commandments in front of the courthouse. The NM Military Institute was also very impressive. The town Walmart is all about aliens ~cool~ LOL! Next day we went to the UFO museum, which was beyond cool! The downtown Main St. is all about little green men!

Drove over to Carlsbad & kinda freaked cuz it was hard to get a hotel room! Not a lot of choices, either! The Days Inn is about the best but it was full so we stayed at Ocotillo Inn. Great $4 steak & fries, and wonderful free breakfast! They have a sports bar that was real rowdy for a Tuesday night!
Next day went to the Caverns, it was a nice drive to get there & we even caught sight of a park ranger trying to "catch" "move away" (??) a real PO'd rattlesnake!

We took the self guided tour inside, cuz the guided tours are scheduled too far apart & mostly early in the morning. The walk was a good 1.5 miles & a bit strenuous, but you can also skip a lot of it and take an elevator down, then just walk around the bigger "rooms" of the caverns. Very interesting caverns, took lots of pix & got a few souvenirs.

The drive down to El Paso was awfully boring, but we relaxed once we got in to Las Cruces again. Finally found a hotel with an indoor pool that was open in New Mexico! Yippee! Next day, went a' hunting for "Chope's" down in La Mesa, waaaaaay past Mesilla. Worth the drive though! Luv the food! (People in NM are SO friendly, I gotta get used to it again. I've become sour, unfriendly & suspicious like all the rest of the people here in Phoenix.)

Finally arrived back here in Phoenix, appx. 5 1/2 hrs. later ~not too happily I must say. But we got great memories of our trip and even better photos! Hope you enjoyed the story! "Til next time, New Mexico!

[Towanda]

gabygirl~

Great report! I enjoyed reading everything!

I am quite familiar with northern New Mexico, but haven't spent much time in the south of the state, so I loved hearing all your impressions!

Thanks for taking the time to write it all!

[GregW]

Like our response to NM a couple of years ago. We really enjoyed the Space Museum in Alamogordo, the Grocery in Demming, the old hotel in Silver, walking the Catwalk, breakfast in Glenwood and the memorable drive to Mogollon. People were friendly and helpful.

Main reason we want to retire in new Mexico - Socorro most likely.

[Sarahsez]

Sounds like you did a lot of the quick and easy fun stuff. You'll have to add a few more days on your next trip. My husband and I traveled with our kids around New Mexico when we lived there. You have to drive a lot and go into some less traveled places, but there is a lot to do.

If you go through Carlsbad again, I'd recommend calling ahead for reservations. I think the Carlsbad RV park next to Happys has a couple of cabins. I'm not sure if you provide the bedding or they do. There is an indoor pool there and they keep the place clean. I'd bet it'd be quieter than the hotel.

[BrianH]

Glad you enjoyed your trip, hope you can make itup north next time!

[cnm206]

LC is in SW NM