Lexma90

At the end of May, DH, 20yo DS and I are taking a one-week (plus the weekend on each end) to, primarily, New Mexico. Being from Colorado, we've visited Taos and Santa Fe a number of times, and will re-visit both those towns. We've probably visited most even semi-well-known sites and museums in those areas, and know which we want to return to. Then two nights in Albuquerque (partly due to Breaking Bad, for DS), and one night in Lincoln - DS is a big western history fan. I would like to visit Ft. Sumner, and we'll spend time at Fort Stanton as well.

We have a list of places in New Mexico after that that we could go to, but have agreed that we won't book any other hotel rooms and just decide from there where we want to go next. We enjoy history, I especially like native cultures, we will probably do some shorter hikes. Being from Colorado and spending a lot of time in the mountains, seeking out beautiful mountain spots is less important. We will probably head back via Santa Fe, though may go through Creede, Durango, etc.

So what have you enjoyed in that area, and more importantly, why? What would be at the top of your list, or not? And of course, we would love to hear of lesser-known places. For example, DS and I (DH wasn't with us) really enjoyed the Martinez Hacienda, outside of Taos. And we love New Mexico cuisine, so any suggestions would be good. DH likes more high-end, but DS and I like the more local-type places.

emalloy

Have you been to Bandolier, about an hour from Santa Fe. Also Chaco Canyon. The closest lodging that I've found, unless you camp is in Bloomfield. Pretty nice Best Western there.

mlm59

When you are in Lincoln you aren't far from White Sands and Roswell. We visited both of those places, along with Lincoln, when we were in New Mexico a few years ago and enjoyed both of them. We stayed at a very nice Holiday Inn Express in Roswell. Traveling from Roswell to Santa Fe, we took a detour to the grave of Billy the Kid.

Lexma90

Bandolier, yes, we've been several times. And we're planning on going to Petroglyph National Monument just west of Albuquerque. I love that stuff!

Chaco Canyon - how much time did you spend there? Was it worth the drive? I've heard various things about it. We loved Canyon de Chelly, and I've read that Chaco Canyon is not quite as spectacular. So please, I would appreciate details.

Billy the Kid is buried in Fort Sumner, which is on our list; I want to go to see the Bosque Redondo Memorial. We would skip Roswell, but you have to go through it to get between Fort Sumner and Lincoln. But staying at the hotel in Lincoln that Billy the Kid was eating at when they tried to arrest him is a must for this trip!

White Sands - What did you like about it? How much time did you spend there?

tomfuller

Capitan is home to the Smokey Bear Historical Park. Smokey just celebrated his 70th birthday.
The "sands" is pure gypsum.

emalloy

Chaco Canyon is not quite as dramatic as Canyon de Chelley, but it felt like there was a larger community there. Some of the stonework is spectacular, large structures with thin rock layers. It gave me a "middle of nowhere" feeling.

The road in is gravel for about 15 miles and I wouldn't take it if there has been rain. Once when we went it had been recently graded and was fine and once it was quite washboarded. There are some nice petroglyphs there too.

We've been twice and spent 4 or 5 hours in the park, maybe a half hour getting in and again out, but like any park you could do more or less depending on your interest. Bring food with you as there is none to speak of there but there are tables under shade arbors.

Check what days Fort Sumner is open, we were in the area on a mid week day and it was not open, so had to gaze through a chain link fence. Not exactly an area where there is a lot to hang around a day for.

emalloy

Hit submit too soon.

White sands is interesting to see, we did have to wait a bit to enter as they were testing a new aircraft over it when we went in. There were wild oryx (not exactly a native species) along the road near the entrance. It is beautiful, but I don't know if I would go hundreds of miles out of my way to visit it.

jayne1973

Lincoln is so cool! Just a few miles away in Ruidoso is a great little restaurant in the shopping center with the gazebo. The name is Comal or El Comal and the homemade Mexican food is outstanding.

wtm003

Have you been to the Bradbury Science Museum in Los Alamos? I thought it was really well done and surprised how much I enjoyed the visit.

I still need to do the Breaking Bad tour with my 18 year old son. Please report back and let us know how it goes.

DebitNM

A few off the top of my head - Tent Rocks, Jemez Springs, Inscription Rock, Acoma Pueblo, El Malpais. Mesa Verde NP, but am guessing you've been there. There a nice hot springs area at north end of Durango on 550, "Trimble Hot Springs" that is a nice relaxation spot.

Lots of great places to eat in Durango.

Lexma90

Thanks for weighing in, DebitNM. Can you give me a bit of an assessment on Tent Rocks, Jemez Springs, Inscription Rock, Acoma Pueblo, El Malpais? In hadn't heard of Inscription Rock - it sounds very interesting to me; El Malpais is a possibility. For people interested in enjoying the Southwest, learning about / seeing some native peoples history (incl petroglyphs), other history, which would you recommend if we couldn't do it all?

Mesa Verde, we went on our last SW trip. I would have returned, but it wasn't on the list for the other two travelers.

And any restaurants; I have a list going for Albuquerque, and would love to add to current lists for Santa Fe and Taos.

DebitNM

Being nearest to I-25, Tent Rocks is amazing. Definitely do this EARLY morning as it gets hot out there.

Malpais and El Moro [aka Inscription Rock] are a ways from ABQ. You might consider doing these two and Acomo Peublo over 2 days, staying out that way for a night.

Acoma is a must see as far as I am concerned. Again, early morning here is best, it gets pretty hot up on the mesa top. And be sure to note the closing times - you cannot get up to see it without a guide. So you need to be there at least an hour before it closes; I'd even call to find out what the last tour departs.

LOL, I only left one thing off -Jemez. Not much help!

ElendilPickle

Have your son Google Breaking Bad filming sites, or you all could take the ABQ Trolley Bad Tour. http://www.abqtrolley.com/page/bad

Other than that, you've gotten a ton of great suggestions.

Lee Ann

Vttraveler

I agree about Acoma pueblo--a spectacular place and very interesting. There is a museum/vistor's center at the bottom of the mesa top, too.

Chaco Canyon is fascinating if you are interested in native history. Also very hot in the middle of the day. The drive in is slow due to the rough road. We stayed at the Best Western in Bloomfield mentioned above. The Salmon Ruins museum and archeological site in Bloomfield is interesting, showing how the culture from Chaco spread. We had wanted to visit the nearby Aztec Ruins National Monument but ran out of time.

For petroglyphs, there is Petroglyph National Monument on the western side of Albuquerque.

cmcfong

I'd go to Los Poblanos near ABQ . http://www.lospoblanos.com. Dinner there was a highlight of my recent trip.

DebitNM

Look at #20 - Inscription Rock and #26 Santa Fe !!

http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/201...rs-ago/100304/

DebitNM

And #34 - also Inscription Rock

falcon

Have you done the Caverns at Carlsbad? There is 4 lane road all the way from Albuquerque and the cave is, of course, fascinating and beautiful. We just returned from a long weekend there with grandkids 6 and 8 and they loved it. Carlsbad itself is quite expensive to stay in, so we stayed in Artesia. On the way down (we started late in the day), we stayed at a Best Western in Roswell, and it was quite good with a very nice breakfast buffet. Had the St. Louis ribs at the Rib Crib and they were very tasty and meaty. Our kids adored White Sands because we rented saucers and we all went sledding. It was too much fun!! The dunes are interesting to see, but the whole picnic/sledding thing is what made it worth the trip for us. Best thing we ate in Alamogordo was the ice cream custard at Caliche's (sp?). Definitely yummy. The food otherwise was mediocre. Best meal was at Applebee's--usually not a place we enjoy, but it worked out fine there. Bradbury museum was ok, but truthfully, didn't capture our attention very much even though we're space history buffs. I second the opinions about Acoma. Definitely worth the trip--it's a place we always take out of town folks. Interesting scenically, architecturally, historically and anthropologically. I assume your restaurant list in Albuquerque includes The Range and Flying Star. They are two signature local restaurants. I'd add Sadie's to the NM food list, too, if it's not already there.