Category Archives: New Mexico

cabo san lucas, New Mexico, Rui Palace, Sammy Hagar birthday bash

We Head to Mexico!

In fairness, before you read further, this was an adults only trip.  While there isn’t a ratings warning on these Cabo posts, they may not be nearly as entertaining due to the lack of kid escapades.  So…you’ve been warned.  If, on the other hand, you are totally ready to plan your own adult escape…read on!

On our adult bucket list, a spot has long been held for Sammy Hagar’s Birthday Bash in Cabo.  (You’ll notice that Sammy, his book and Chickenfoot all make the list of our favs here on the blog.)  And, gee, who doesn’t like the idea of a long weekend in sunny Mexico?

So…off we went!  We checked into the Rui Palace and immediately got started on the sun, the pool…and the all-inclusive everything.  And, when they say all-inclusive, they mean it.  There is no messing around here – with the food or drinks.  There is also nearly a full bar in the room.  They can make any drink you’ve heard of…or ones you haven’t.  Suffice it to say that we discovered a couple of new favorite frozen options that go down well in the sun.  And the views?  See for yourself…

Ahhh…bet you feel more relaxed already!  But what about the entertainment – the booze cruise, Sammy’s concert?  They deserve their own post…coming right up!

Jen

Alamogordo, Fernando's, Fort Amarillo RV Park, New Mexico, White Sands National Monument

Wind, Sand, Snow…More Wind

Good lord…it’s windy. Winds from the south at 24 mph gusting to 32 mph…or 232 mph depending on your point of view. And whether you are driving an RV into the middle of a bunch of sand dunes.

Which we are…because well…if the wind is gusting to 232 mph, why not? How can this be a bad idea?

And, so, on this lovely day, we head out to White Sands with saucers. And we get plenty of wind, sand and drama (because of the wind and sand).

Finally…sledding on the dunes…
Keep your eyes covered…and the sand out of your hair!
She would never make it in the desert…or Saudia Arabia

Not to mention that some weather alarmist in the O’Reilly’s store in Alamogordo (the town near White Sands) says there is 9 inches of snow coming today (although he is not overly specific about that “today” part). So…back to Yahoo! maps and weather.com…I’m wondering whether Al invented the internet so we could all check on these freak weather patterns that are surely part of his global warming crisis…

Not that I’m a conspiracy theorist or anything…

Ok, maybe we should have listened to the alarmists…we drive out of one type of blowing white stuff (sand) and into another (snow). The road atlas is my new favorite book…especially when we are in the middle of “scenic” New Mexico where the Internet is still a good idea in theory but not so much in practice. We are constantly trying to find the sections of highway on the map that are closed due to bad road conditions while simultaneously trying to read the road signs through the snow that is covering them. I can tell you wish you had been there!

Yes, yes…I know.  This really looks like nothing to us seasoned Missourians…except that in general we are not driving RVs in the middle of New Mexico.  Next time, you can drive!

So…we did make it out of New Mexico intact and took the highway into Amarillo.  Guess how the highway was?  WINDY!  But we kept up a good pace so we could make it to Fernando’s (and got Jennifer as our waitress!) before they closed…followed by another stay at Fort Amarillo RV Park. Why mess with success?

Jen

A Christmas Story movie, Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

Christmas Eve and Carlsbad Caverns

Bright and early on Christmas Eve, we head out of Amarillo aimed firmly in the direction of New Mexico by way of Lubbock. The holiday makes for decent travel (although not always the best roads). Thankfully, the drive is uneventful although our campground choice is further away from everything than we would like (including a nice leisurely 15-mile drive up a gentle long steep hill that we thought we might need to push the RV up).

Not having enough driving, we started the RV back up and headed to the other side of Carlsbad towards Carlsbad Caverns. The same light holiday traffic on the roads also means less tourists in the caverns. We get there near 3 p.m. and take the elevator down to the Big Room. Oh. My. God. It is just amazing to us that places like this exist…and just get stumbled upon by hikers or geologists or people like us. And they are still discovering new caves and byways and all sorts of interesting things each day.

Max and Mara at Carlsbad (duh!)
One view in the Big Room

Again…WOW!

On a bit of a down note, we walk out to have Mike study the front tire and see steel belts showing. Uh. Oh. It’s 4:45 p.m. on Christmas Eve in Carlsbad, NM (population 27,000). I get on the phone with the campground for a recommendation, call them to find no answer…but a hotline number! One and half hours, over $200 and a Christmas Eve dinner at Wendy’s later, we are in good shape…Big Thanks to Carlsbad KOA and Forrest Tire! We follow up our unconventional dinner with a viewing of A Christmas Story…a perfect ending leaving us in a new search for a smiling duck to have at some meal on this trip…

Jen

P.S. – The dusk bat flight only happens from May to October, so we didn’t see a repeat performance of the one we had seen in Austin, TX several years ago. It is literally like watching some weird movie to watch them come out. In Austin, it’s from under the Congress Bridge; here it’s from the cave entrance. There are likely other places to experience the same thing and you should definitely try it – especially you Twilight fans!