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OP here. I recently took a scouting trip to ABQ/SF. One of the things I came away with was a "perception" of isolation, that I was in an oasis of civilization in a vast desert, that there was nothing out there but sand and stone.
1. Some people really like that...
2. New Mexico is a big state, 5th largest land wise.
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Originally Posted by BeantownJoe
My general preference is outdoorsy stuff (hiking, biking, skiing, etc.) but I am also fine with just seeing interesting things.
Hiking and Biking? You can do that almost every day.
Interesting things? What I find interesting, you may not...
Bisti Wilderness off Highway 371 - you'll have its amazingness pretty much to yourself
Experience the startling difference in climate between Rodeo, NM, and Portal, AZ - only six miles from each other. In Rodeo, see the stars. In Portal, exotic birds.
Be on Highway 54 between Carrizozo and Tularosa at sunrise or sunset - and see the two sunrises and two sunsets.
I subscribe to New Mexico Magazine to keep my NM dream alive. The mag details interesting places and provides a huge number of possibilities. Combining the magazine with a copy of the Benchmark New Mexico road and Recreation Atlas helps plan both day and overnight trips. Or, as I said before, aim your car in any direction and get on the two lane and, if you don't mind, gravel roads and just look around.
Take a ride up past Las Vegas and head east at Wagon Mound to the hidden canyon of the Canadian River Valley. Bring your camera, but be aware there are no services or anything there except for a ranch in the canyon bottom. Extreme scenery makes it worth it! Nothing in Roy, so travel back the way you came...A note of interest is the almost covered up lava field on the northeast side of the Wagon Mound, people forget it was once a volcano...Happy Trails!
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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some of my favorites.....
-Durango/Silverton, CO and driving up the Million Dollar Highway (550). The best of the Rockies in this area and some of the finest mountain scenery in the country. Telluride and Ouray are worth checking out as well though a bit further up. Silverton is a cool old mining town frozen in time, awesome mountain hiking trails in that area.
-Las Cruces, sometimes I'll spend the night there and do a jaunt over to White Sands (awesome). The Organ Mountains are really beautiful as well with nice hiking, and Old Mesilla gives off an old world feel and has a few decent restaurants. El Paso if you're interested, is just down the road as well. El Paso has a good outlet mall/decent shopping, a water park, and not to be missed The Edge of Texas Steakhouse.
-Abiquiu/Ghost Ranch: If you want to hike around cool Southwestern red rock scenery Ghost Ranch is the place. Abiquiu Lake is nearby as well.
Depending on how far you want to drive Northern Arizona is pretty nice as well. Flagstaff, Sedona, and the Grand Canyon are about a 5-6 hour drive, and well worth it.
Get the book "Day Trips From Albuquerque" http://www.amazon.com/Day-Trips-Albu.../dp/B008SM226M Excellent guide to all sorts of places to explore with lots of great advice about places to eat, photograph, etc. I use it myself to plan getaways.
It's a ways down to Carlsbad Caverns from the Duke City but it's well worth it if you've never been there! IMO it's one of the top 5 National Parks in the United States. Right now would be a good time to go as SE New Mexico can get a tad toasty in the summer months. Even right now mid-March would see 80 degrees down there. It's an amazing place! For that matter so is White Sands National Monument, you could make a quick visit there on your way back from Carlsbad.
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