New Mexico

White Sands NP

shaunaaguirre — Sun, 22 Jan 2023 00:09:30 +0000

White Sands National Park The largest gypsum dune field in the world is located at White Sands National Monument in south-central New Mexico. This dune field is very dynamic, with the most active dunes moving to the northeast at a rate of up to 30 feet per year, while the more stable areas of sand move very little. This region of glistening white dunes is in the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert within an “internally drained valley” called the Tularosa Basin. The monument ranges in elevation from 3890′ to 4116′ above sea level. There are approximately 275 total square miles of dune fields here, with 115 square miles (about 40%) located within White Sands National Monument. The remainder is on military land that is not open to the public. We drove from Carlsbad Caverns but you can easily get here from Albuquerque or Las Cruces. We arrived just as the full moon was rising and spent an hour getting familiar with the park. We returned the following morning and spent several hours in the park. It really is like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Rather than take one of the marked hikes, we parked in one of the side lots and headed out to play in the dunes. The sand was cool to the touch and pristine (we did find a few pieces of trash that we picked up.) At times there wasn’t another person as far as we could see but I’m sure in the summer, there are a lot more people. Hiking the Dunes Park Details Park Hours Opens at 7:00 am, closing time varies by the time of year.No reservations are required Visitor Center Hours and Parking The visitor center has minimal parking for large RVs and trailers. Overflow large vehicle parking is available in the Administrative Building parking lot. Entrance Fee $25.00 per vehicle and valid for seven consecutive days and payable at the entrance booth on Dunes Drive.

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Carlsbad Caverns

shaunaaguirre — Sat, 21 Jan 2023 18:01:56 +0000

We have been talking about going to Southern NM for awhile now and finally found the right time. We flew from SD to El Paso, rented a car and set out to explore. Our first stop was Carlsbad Caverns. There are lots of hotels to choose from in Carlsbad, NM but we stayed at The Caverns Inn in White City, just ½ mile from the road to the Caverns. Turns out going here in early January was a great choice. There weren’t very many people and the weather was incredible, 75 degrees on this day! During the summer, they limit the guests to 25k/day but on this day there were less than 2k. These are some of the deepest, largest and most unique caverns ever discovered, and they’ve been protected by the NPS since 1923. Until you descend into the depths, it’s hard to comprehend the massiveness of these caves. The actor Will Rogers described the cavern system as a “Grand Canyon with a roof over it.” Entering the Cavern The Big Room, North America’s largest explorable single cave chamber is a limestone chamber that’s 255 feet high. Stalactites, many as long as 60 feet, drip from its ceiling. Spectacular stalagmites, some six stories tall, rise from the floor. Delicate “soda straw” formations, cave pools, shimmering “popcorn” structures and brilliant speleothems add to the spectacle. “Some of the formations can be 150 to 200 feet tall. They even seem taller than that when you’re standing there looking at them. Unlike most national parks, Carlsbad Caverns requires advanced reservations for entry; make sure you book before your arrival because they can’t be made on-site. Reservations cost $1, and they’re limited to a 60-minute window based on the time you choose. The cavern system, naturally, ranks as the park’s main attraction. You should spend as much time as you can underground exploring it. You can enter the caverns in one of two ways. Via an elevator or walking down the 1¼-mile path through the Natural Entrance. By far, walking down is the best way (and riding the elevator back up at the end of your visit.)This will give you a much clearer sense of the cave system’s massiveness. You’ll descend roughly 800 feet as the sunlight slowly disappears. Once you’re inside, it’s full of spectacular rock formations of all shapes and sizes. Keep your eye out for an artifact: a decades-old rope ladder that explorers used in 1924 to enter the cave. Cavern Highlights The various rock formations are generally all stalagmites or stalactites, and the Big Room has more than its fair share. Highlights include the Hall of Giants (a series of roughly 60-foot-high domes. These are built up from water droplets depositing minerals in the same spot over eons.) The Bottomless Pit (a 140-foot-deep hole.) Crystal Spring Dome, one of the park’s largest active stalagmites at 21 fee. You’ll see water flowing down the sides of the white rock into a pool below. It’s hard to explain how impressive walking through the Big Room is; you just have to see (and experience) it for yourself. If you visit late April through October, you can experience the Bat Flight. More than 400,000 Brazilian free-tailed bats emerging from the caverns nightly, hungry and in search of insects. If you’re an early riser you can watch them return between 4-6am. History of the Cavern Native Americans have known about the cave for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.The Mescalero Apache called this area Jadnut?udebiga (Home of the Bat) while the Zuni Pueblo named it Asho:sti an alaluckwa (Bat Cave). If you look carefully around the cave entrance you’ll find multiple mescal cooking pits and even a cave painting.The Mescalero Apache, Zuni Pueblo, and other groups were well acquainted with this piece of the Chihuahuan Desert. While there is no evidence these native peoples explored deep into the cave, they were certainly aware of its existence. The first credited cave exploration happened in the cave in 1898. Sixteen year-old cowboy, Jim White, was rounding up cattle one evening. He thought he spotted smoke from a wildfire off in the distance. As Jim approached the smoke, he noticed he wasn’t seeing smoke. He was watching bats. Thousands-upon-thousands of Brazilian free-tailed bats. Jim finally stopped at the mouth of the cave completely mesmerized by the spectacle of flying mammals filling the air above him. He spent the rest of is life exploring the caverns. The small town near the turn off is named after him, White City. To read Jim’s whole story visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Larkin_White Check out more of our New Mexico adventures here: https://48houradventures.com/category/new-mexico/

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Taos, NM #2 ~ The Taos Pueblo & The Rio Grande

shaunaaguirre — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 07:00:31 +0000

After a visit to Rancho de Chimayo we continued our journey along the Taos scenic byway to Taos. We were starving by now so we stopped at Blakes Lottaburger, a NM mainstay for an awesome green chili burger. Next stop ~ Taos Pueblo. This Pueblo is made up of multi-storied adobe buildings and has been continuously inhabited for over 1000 years making it the one of the oldest in the US. They have walking tours that leave every 30 minutes and we highly recommend it. The young man who did our tour grew up in the Pueblo and is now a student at UNM but comes back several times a week to give tours. It was incredibly informative with many important historical references of the Pueblo. After the tour we spent several hours walking around and soaking up the view. Some of the buildings have galleries for the Native American artists to sell their wares. Fishing on the Rio Grande After several hours, we headed into town and went to the Taos Fly Shop so Bryan could get some tips on getting to the shore of the Rio Grande to do some fishing. The team there sent us to the Taos junction bridge. Just across the bridge was a small beach and gave us perfect access to the river. After about an hour there, a crazy storm rolled in and we barely made it out of there. The dirt road started to wash out and we had to hustle to get out of the ravine. We went for a drive thru parts of the Carson Forest and then headed back to our hotel. We loved staying at the Hotel Don Fernando of Taos. They have an indoor pool that makes for a great morning swim and the bar/restaurant are nice. The lobby of the hotel is beautifully decorated with Native American art. Top 5 things to see in Taos The Taos Pueblo: One of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the Country. Open daily from 8am-4:30pm. El Santuario de Chimayo: The most important Catholic pilgramige sites in the Country. Open from 9am-5pm daily. Rio Grande Gorge: About a 30 minute drive, this bridge is 650 feet above the Rio Grande river. There’s a visitor center here for more info. Visit Nanbé Pueblo: A popular stop in the stunning foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Nambé Falls Recreation Area, located above the pueblo, offers swimming, lake fishing, a stunning double-drop waterfall. The Nanbé tribe is famous for their mixed wood and silver pottery. Downtown Taos shopping: There are dozens of stores here to pick up souvenirs, Native American jewelry and pottery and plenty of restaurants to enjoy. We had some amazing pozole at La Cueva Cafe and breakfast the next morning at Taos Diner was awesome. From. here we are heading thru Northern New Mexico to see Shiprock and then on to Sedona! Be sure to check out our other blogs of things to see in Northern New Mexico.

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Taos, NM #1 ~ A Native American Pueblo & Sacred Church

shaunaaguirre — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 07:00:35 +0000

On our way to Taos, we planned to stop at El Sanctuario de Chimayo We left Santa Fe early in the morning in order to get to the church before it was too busy. My mother spent much of her life in this area and was an avid photographer. She loved to photograph Northern New Mexico. Even though I hadn’t visited these places before, the minute we arrived, I felt like I’d found a long lost friend. The first thing you notice when entering this area is the fence filled with crosses. It’s very moving. There are several places of worship in the Courtyard. Just off to the East, there is a beautiful stream. We picked up a few branches and some debris and a made a cross to leave. The Sanctuary is one of the most important Catholic pilgrimage centers in the US. Over 300k visitors come each year and every Good Friday, tens of thousands of people make the pilgrimage here. This church is known for it’s “El Pocito” a small hole of Holy Dirt in the ground in the side chapel. Many people claim it has remarkable curing powers. As you exit the room with the hole, there are rows of crutches left by people allegedly healed here. You can spend several hours here with plenty to see. Check out the second part of our Taos Trip. Tip: If you see a roadside stand, STOP! The sell all kinds of red and green chili spices and more that you can’t get anywhere else in the world!

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Santa Fe, NM ~ The Turquoise Trail

shaunaaguirre — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Santa Fe is one of my top 5 favorite cities in the world. We flew into Albuquerque and took the Turquoise Trail road to Santa Fe. If you want the fast road just head straight up the I 25N and it will take you right into Santa Fe. If you want to do some exploring on the way, take the I 40E to Hwy 14N. This is the Turquoise trail and will take you to the backside of the Sandia mountains. The hippie town of Madrid, NM Once you turn on Hwy 14N, it’s abut 35 minutes ’til you arrive in the town of Madrid. Madrid was once a coal mining town turned ghost town turned hippie art town. It was featured in the movie Wild Hogs and still retains some of the sites from the movie set. There are lots of souvenir shops, art galleries and a few restaurants. Our favorite is the Mine Shaft Tavern. The food is fantastic and the people watching is world-class. They also have a beer garden and live music on the weekends. Santa Fe Plaza The drive from Madrid to Santa Fe is about 40 minutes and takes you past some beautiful farms, the State penitentiary and several look out spots. Once you arrive in Santa Fe, there is so much to see and do. There are hundreds of art galleries, magnificent churches and amazing food. Our Favorite restaurant and our first stop is The Shed for some green chili. The Shed has been in operation since 1953 and at it’s current location since 1960. The food is authentic New Mexican food and the margaritas are amazing. No trip to Santa Fe is complete without a Frito Pie. Featured on the Food Network as “one of the best things I ever ate.” You have to visit the five & dime on the Plaza. Head to the food counter in the back and get yourself one, grab a bench in the Plaza and enjoy. We spent hours strolling around historic Santa Fe Plaza. Here you can browse shops and art galleries and learn about New Mexico’s history and the Native American Southwest. Be sure to visit the Georgia O’Keefe Museum, the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi and the Loretto Chapel. If time allows, a trip to Georgia O’Keefe’s Ghost Ranch is a must. It’s about an hour drive from Santa Fe. This is where she lived and the subject of many of her paintings. You can make this a day trip or stay the night or a week! A world-class Japanese Spa By this time, we were ready for a massage and so we called ahead and booked a couples massage at Ten Thousand Waves. It’s about a 15 minute drive from Santa Fe and is a world-class Japanese spa. It has beautiful outdoor hot tubs, a cold plunge and some of the most serene massage rooms you will ever experience. Hands down, the hottest ticket in Santa Fe is Meow Wolf. This interactive art experience has become a national phenomenon. Be sure to book tickets in advance. For breakfast, we have two favorite spots. The French Pastry Shop and Creperie that has amazing pastries and crepes and the Burrito Company if you’re in the mood for more traditional NM food. We always stay at The Inn & Spa at Loretto. The pueblo style hotel has rooms with balconies, shopping and a world class spa. Santa Fe is an epic jump off spot for several day trips. Click here for the best 5 day trips. Check out our other blogs for exploring Northern New Mexico!

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Albuquerque, NM ~ The Turquoise Trail

shaunaaguirre — Sun, 03 Mar 2019 07:00:50 +0000

Along the Turquoise Trail is where I grew up. It is in the mountains between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Every trip back to this area feels like going home. The beauty of the terrain in this state is spectacular and there is an abundance of sites to see and land to explore. More importantly and, let me tell you, the food in this state is some of the best in the Country. It is particularly unique to this area and is my comfort food in its purest sense. Our first stop out of the airport in Albuquerque is always Los Cuates Restaurant. It’s been there for over 40 years and the food is mouth-watering authentic New Mexican cuisine. The Turquoise Trail Fueled up and ready to explore, we head to the Sandia Mountains. The Sandia’s are part of the Rocky Mountains and they line the east side of the city. We headed out the I 40E to Hwy 14N towards Cedar Crest thru the Tijeras Canyon Pass and onto The Turquoise Trail. This canyon separates the Sandia Mountains to the North from the Manzano mountains to the south. Once you turn on the North 14, you”ll travel about 6 miles to Sandia Peak road. A left turn there and as you head up the mountain, you are entering the Cibola National Forest. This is one of our favorite forests to explore, because it’s where I grew up and holds a huge part of my heart. There are hundreds of mies of hiking trails in the Cibola. One of the really fun and easy hikes is the Sandia Cave hike. The views from here are breathtaking and it’s a fun cave hike. The road to the parking is rough but most cars can get up albeit slowly. The hike is just over two miles round trip but take your time and enjoy the views. After hiking we continued up the Sandia Crest Byway towards the peak. This is the highest byway in the Southwest and reaches the peak at 10,378 ft. At the top is the Sandia Peak Ski area and the Sandia Peak Tramway. The Tram was built in the 1960’s and tis the worlds second largest. It travels up and down the east side of the Sandia’s for 2.7 miles to the peak. The views are stunning and you get a 11,000 square-mile panoramic view of the Rio Grande Valley and this part of the Land of Enchantment. Historic Old Town Plaza We made our way back to the city early in the evening and headed to the Historic Old Town Plaza. We ate at another of our favorite restaurants here and the oldest restaurant in Albuquerque, La Placeita. It’s an old hacienda style restaurant with a giant oak tree growing thru the middle of it. The plaza in Old town Albuquerque is about 10 blocks of adobe buildings with retail shops, restaurants, art galleries and museums and some beautiful Navajo artifacts and jewelry. In fact, you could spend a whole day here enjoying the Plaza. In the winter and around the holidays you can take a carriage ride around the town in horse drawn buggies. Next up, we are taking the back road to Santa Fe for more exploring along The Turquoise Trail and then to Taos and Shiprock.

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