New Mexico, September and October 2018 Part 4 (Alamagordo)
September 22, 2018--Drive from home to to High Plains Camping,, Oakley, KS, overnight, 345 Miles
September 23, 2018--Drive from Oakley, KS to Pueblo South/Colorado City KOA, Pueblo, CO, overnight, 297 miles
September 24, 2018--Driive from Pueblo, CO to Santa Fe Skies RV Resort, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 261 miles
September 24, 2018 to October 4, 2018--Santa Fe Skies RV Resort, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 11 days
October 5, 2018--Drive from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Albuquerque KOA, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 37 miles
October 5, 2018 to October 7, 2018--Albuquerque KOA, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 3 days
October 8, 2018--Drive from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Carlsbad KOA, Carlsbad, New Mexico, 278 miles
October 8, 2018 to October 9, 2018--Carlsbad KOA, Carlsbad, New Mexico, 2 days
October 10, 2018--Drive from Carlsbad, New Mexico to Boothill RV Park, Alamagordo, New Mexico 168 miles
October 10, 2018 to October 11, 2018--Boothill RV Park, Alamagordo, New Mexico 2 days
October 12, 2018--Drive from Alamagordo, New Mexico to Butterfield RV Park, Benson, Arizona, 309 miles
October 12-13--Butterfield RV Park, Benson, Arizona 2 days
October 14, 2018--Drive from Benson, Arizona to Rincon Country West RV Resort, Tucson, Arizona for the winter! 48 miles
September 23, 2018--Drive from Oakley, KS to Pueblo South/Colorado City KOA, Pueblo, CO, overnight, 297 miles
September 24, 2018--Driive from Pueblo, CO to Santa Fe Skies RV Resort, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 261 miles
September 24, 2018 to October 4, 2018--Santa Fe Skies RV Resort, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 11 days
October 5, 2018--Drive from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Albuquerque KOA, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 37 miles
October 5, 2018 to October 7, 2018--Albuquerque KOA, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 3 days
October 8, 2018--Drive from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Carlsbad KOA, Carlsbad, New Mexico, 278 miles
October 8, 2018 to October 9, 2018--Carlsbad KOA, Carlsbad, New Mexico, 2 days
October 10, 2018--Drive from Carlsbad, New Mexico to Boothill RV Park, Alamagordo, New Mexico 168 miles
October 10, 2018 to October 11, 2018--Boothill RV Park, Alamagordo, New Mexico 2 days
October 12, 2018--Drive from Alamagordo, New Mexico to Butterfield RV Park, Benson, Arizona, 309 miles
October 12-13--Butterfield RV Park, Benson, Arizona 2 days
October 14, 2018--Drive from Benson, Arizona to Rincon Country West RV Resort, Tucson, Arizona for the winter! 48 miles
October 10, 2018, Carlsbad to Alamagordo
We wanted to have extra time at Alamogordo, NM today so we left the RV Park in Carlsbad and arrived at Alamogordo at Boot Hill RV Park around 11:30 am. This is another nice spacious RV Park. We decided to drive the long way (an extra 30 miles) to avoid driving the RV through the winding, steep curves through the mountains. We still had some curvy roads with some strong winds but we think it was still better this way.
After we had lunch at the RV we drove in to Alamogordo to go to the New Mexico Museum of Space History. This was a small museum but very interesting and lots of interactive activities spread out through the museum. The museum contained the Space Hall of Fame and we were surprised to see they had a number of Russian cosmonauts. We found this museum so interesting because we lived through a lot of the beginning of space exploration, the fist landings on the moon, the first man in space, and the first astronaut to orbit the earth. Outside of the museum was a nice, static display of various missiles and rockets. Under the flags was the grave of the first monkey in space.
After we had lunch at the RV we drove in to Alamogordo to go to the New Mexico Museum of Space History. This was a small museum but very interesting and lots of interactive activities spread out through the museum. The museum contained the Space Hall of Fame and we were surprised to see they had a number of Russian cosmonauts. We found this museum so interesting because we lived through a lot of the beginning of space exploration, the fist landings on the moon, the first man in space, and the first astronaut to orbit the earth. Outside of the museum was a nice, static display of various missiles and rockets. Under the flags was the grave of the first monkey in space.
After the museum we went across from our RV Park to McGinns Pistachio Tree Ranch. We just caught the last tour of the orchard. It was cheap, short and informative plus we got discounts on our ice cream. Pistachio trees are grafted with oak trees so the trunk and roots are more substantial and the branches, leaves, and on top of the tree are the pistachios. They are harvested each year in August. In the orchard there are also grape vines to make several varieties of wine. We bought a couple of bags of pistachios to take home with us. One type of ice cream that Mike and I shared was made with pistachios and was very good.
Once we got back to the RV we fixed dinner. There’s no cable at the RV Park so there’s not much on TV. Tomorrow we plan on going to White Sands.
October 11, 2018,
We left this morning for White Sands National Monument and arrived at the Visitor’s Center right before it opened at 9 am. It was just enough time for us to get photos in front of the White Sands Visitor’s Center sign. This was the only gift shop and visitor’s center in the park so we bought a few things not knowing when we’d be leaving the park for the day. We’ve also been getting our passport stamps at each visitor’s center we’ve stopped at for the last month. I think this will be the last national park or monument stamp we will get for a while.
We watched the film at the visitor’s center about White Sands. We always like to start with a film to give us a little knowledge about the place we’re visiting. We entered the park and gave the ranger our national park senior pass. That pass has been one of the best bargains we’ve ever had; $10 for a lifetime pass, can’t beat it!
We drove on Dunes Drive into the park and our first stop was at Playa Trail about ½ mile roundtrip. This was a nice short introductory trail to the dunes. Next stop was at Dune Life Nature Trail, a 1 mile loop in the dunes. This one was much more enjoyable and a little tougher only because we were walking in the sand the entire time with some sandy slopes. After that one we went to the Inter Dune Boardwalk (2000 feet). This one wasn’t much as it was a boardwalk into the dunes and not much different than what we had seen earlier.
We watched the film at the visitor’s center about White Sands. We always like to start with a film to give us a little knowledge about the place we’re visiting. We entered the park and gave the ranger our national park senior pass. That pass has been one of the best bargains we’ve ever had; $10 for a lifetime pass, can’t beat it!
We drove on Dunes Drive into the park and our first stop was at Playa Trail about ½ mile roundtrip. This was a nice short introductory trail to the dunes. Next stop was at Dune Life Nature Trail, a 1 mile loop in the dunes. This one was much more enjoyable and a little tougher only because we were walking in the sand the entire time with some sandy slopes. After that one we went to the Inter Dune Boardwalk (2000 feet). This one wasn’t much as it was a boardwalk into the dunes and not much different than what we had seen earlier.
Dunes Drive forms a loop at the Heart of the Sands area. At the loop the pavement ends and the area is totally covered by the dunes. The road had been plowed so vehicles can travel on the loop. The road looked like we were driving on packed snow and ice. We pulled over and got out our snow disc and wax that we had purchased earlier at the gift shop. We applied the wax to the bottom of the disc to make it slide easier down the steep dunes. Mike and I took turns going down the dune but the hardest part was trying to climb up to the top as our feet kept slipping in the sand. It wasn’t as fast as if we were on snow, in fact it was kind of slow but we had fun doing it anyway. We took some fun photos as we slid down the hill. It's not too often you get to ride a snow disc wearing shorts and t-shirts.
It was after 12 and we really had done everything we wanted to do in the park so decided to go to Cloudcroft which is a ski town in the mountains. Because of the steep hills and cruves this is the highway we decided not to drive in the motor home on our way to Alamogordo. It didn’t take long for us to realize we had made the right decision. It was extremely steep, a 6 % grade that dropped 4300 feet. It seemed to go on and on. We had a very forgettable lunch at Cloudcroft and since there wasn’t anything else in the town that interested us we headed back. If I thought this would have been a tough drive in the motor home going up, I would have been terrified going down. I am so thankful we didn’t take this route in the motor home although it’s a very scenic drive in the car.
Once we got back into town we decided to go to another pistachio store. There, we had free samples of pistachios and this time free wine tasting. We ended up buying some pistachio candy and a bottle of wine to give to Carol for her birthday when we see her in Tucson.
We came back to the motor home late afternoon, relaxed, and got ready to leave in the morning for Benson, AZ. I wish we had another day in Alamagordo as there's more to do in the area than what I originally thought. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it will be a safe drive.
Once we got back into town we decided to go to another pistachio store. There, we had free samples of pistachios and this time free wine tasting. We ended up buying some pistachio candy and a bottle of wine to give to Carol for her birthday when we see her in Tucson.
We came back to the motor home late afternoon, relaxed, and got ready to leave in the morning for Benson, AZ. I wish we had another day in Alamagordo as there's more to do in the area than what I originally thought. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it will be a safe drive.