A lot of our driving days have had long stretches were we felt like we were driving through the middle of nowhere - but our drive through New Mexico to Carlsbad was truly the middle of nowhere - just long stretches through the desert.
We camped at Brantley Lake State Park a little north of Carlsbad - a really beautiful desert park, it offered campsites with amenities and primitive sites. The sites with amenities were packed with RVs right on top of one another so we opted for the primitive campsite so we could have some privacy and be alone on the lake. Sacrificing a picnic table and proximity to the bathrooms was worth it - and not only because it was cheaper - it was so peaceful and once the sun set the stars we spectacular! We even saw Venus as she made her was across the sky during sunset. We heard coyotes howling during the night - that was fun (at times they sounded very close, though I doubt they were). The days were very warm (60ºs) but the nights dipped down to the mid 30ºs - and we were very excited to learn that the desert warms up very quickly.
After some campsite coffee we made our way to Carlsbad Caverns. I did a report on this park in middle school and I remember spending a month or two thinking this was the coolest, most incredible sounding place ever so I was very excited to actually go to there. They offer many guided tours of lots of different caverns (some that require squeezing through small openings and such) all the tours take several hours so we just did the self guided main tour (which is the cheapest at $6!) since we were only planning on spending one day there.
We opted for the Natural Entrance as opposed to the elevator down to the Big Room - I would seriously recommend that way of getting into the caves - it's really dramatic: the sun goes away and you just keep descending - about 750 feet!
The Big Room is the main attraction - and believe us, it is BIG, and not only big but other worldly and gorgeous. A seriously trippy place. They also have lit it very well which adds to the enjoyment.
there is also a very outdated looking cafeteria and gift shop right before the Big Room down in the Caverns - talk about a disorienting place.
You can see more photos here!
After the Caverns we had some Margaritas and Green Chili con Queso at Lucy's Mexicali Restaurant while we wrote post cards and enjoyed the afternoon. We then made our way back to Brantley Lake and hiked around the park and up the the dam during the sunset.
If you have a magnifying glass you can see our tent in the little clearing on the lake!
The next morning we hit the road and headed up to Santa Fe, with a few stops: thrift stores and Roswell. By the way, we do indeed mean UP - Santa Fe is at an altitude of about 7,000 ft! Our good friend Jeanette convinced her Aunt and Uncle to house us (which was really wonderful when there was 7 inches on snow on our second day there). They were very generous and welcoming (not to mention they made excellent cocktails) and there were such gorgeous views our whole trip could have been spent looking at all the mountains from their porch.
We had planned a lot of day trips around Santa Fe but we had some car troubles and then there was a big snow storms that closed some roads so we spent our time wandering the city, popping into all the amazing galleries and eating green chili stews (we actually had green or red chili for almost every meal.) Hands down all the food in Santa Fe was incredible, one of the perks of having locals tell you were to eat! The world of green and red chili was opened to us... and I don't know if we'll ever be the same, not to mention I have vowed to learn how to make them upon my return to Brooklyn. (The list so far: Creole/Cajun, Southwestern)
After we had had our fill of Santa Fe we made our way to Arizona!!
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