January 9-15, 2022
We looked at Alamogordo, New Mexico, on the map and assumed it was a little town in the middle of nowhere. So, we weren't expecting much. But it was a long drive from Tucson, Arizona, to Amarillo, Texas, so we decided to spend a week in New Mexico anyway. We were so lucky we did!
We found Monica's favorite restaurant at D.H. Lescombes Winery and Bistro (try the Heritage Pinot Noir!) and we ate their twice during our stay.
The biggest highlight of the trip was probably White Sands National Park. It's one of the strangest places we've been with white sands that look like snow but feel like sand. It was so crazy we had to go twice. The first time, we borrowed a sled from the KOA where we were staying and went to check out the park.
We thought that might be the only place to see in the area, but we were so wrong! Of course, we had to make a stop at the World's Largest Pistachio at PistachioLand (not all it's cracked up to be HAHAHA) on a trip up to Ruidoso. That mountain town was gorgeous, and it felt a lot like smaller towns in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. It was really cool, and we hope to stay at an RV resort up there someday.
Another highlight of our week was a day at the Museum of Space History in the foothills next to town. It's a tall building designed to be visited from the top floor down to the ground floor along a spiraling walkway around the outside. There is a store, and there are rockets and such scattered around the outside. We were even able to do a quick hike through the cactus and scrub brush before the sun went down. It was a really fun day.
We went back to White Sands National Park to do their Sunset Stroll, a tour at dusk with a park ranger. We learned a lot, walked around a bit, and got some great sunset pictures before the park closed.
After Alamogordo (we wished we'd stayed a bit longer, so we'll be back!) we headed for Amarillo, Texas. Monica has to be in the office 52 days out of every year (2022 only required 43 days, though), and Amarillo is her home base. She was getting ready to go back to the office after a long time working from home during the pandemic. It was going to be weird.
