Hey Guys!! Our last stop in New Mexico this time was Las Cruces. We spent two weeks in the area, but didn’t really do a whole lot of adventuring.
The first thing we did when we got to Las Cruces was head to Hatch, NM for some spicy melt-your-face-off food. Our go to spot in Hatch is a joint called Sparkeys. Even the ice cream at Sparkeys is spicy!!
Prehistoric Trackway National Monument is a BLM run National Park that was established to protect a large collection of Paleozoic era fossilized footprints along what’s called a megatrackway.
The monument consists of over 5,000 acres and has been called by some scientists as possibly the most “scientifically significant Permian track sites in the world…and Guys…we couldn’t find a single track. We tried so hard. We looked around the trail for a couple of hours but didn’t see single track. We found a couple of shell fossils, but no tracks.
There are a few different hiking paths. There’s supposed to be a way to link a couple of them and make a loop. We tried to do that and we somehow got lost and ended up in a section that was supposed to be closed. It was great to get outside on a beautiful day with some great views though! We’ll call it a win even though we didn’t find what we were looking for.
We hit up some of our go to foodie spots while we were there and found a few new spots that were fantastic! If you’re in Las Cruces, go check out Chala’s Woodfire Grill and High Desert Brewing Co!! This was our last chance to get some authentic New Mexican food so we ate as much of it as we could.
So, as you can see, we didn’t really do a lot during the two weeks we were in Las Cruces. We ate a lot more than we probably should have, soaked up the beautiful sunsets, and made some plans for our 2020 adventures.
Hey Guys!! We made it down to Alamogordo, NM where we spent a week cramming in as many adventures (and foodies) as we possibly could! It helped that Jerl had a few days off to celebrate the New Year.
As per our usual timing while in New Mexico…we raced a snow storm to get to Alamogordo. I think we saw all four seasons of weather on our way between Santa Fe and Alamogordo. It was quite the drive.
We found the Valley of Fires Recreation Area during our second visit to the Alamogordo area, but didn’t make it there to explore. I guess going to see a lava field in the snow wasn’t the best idea. But, we weren’t the only people there! Ha! I guess sometimes, you have to just work with the weather you’re given. If you look closely, you’ll see the black of the lava peeking out from under the white snow. Valley of Fires Rec Area is a BLM run National Park. There’s a visitor center, and small gift shop on site.
You can see the Carrizozo Lava Flow on Google Maps if you look. It formed when lava was pushed up through vents in the earth’s surface sometime around 4,000 years ago which makes it one of the youngest lava flows in the U.S. When it’s not covered in snow, you can see cracks, collapsed lava tubes, fissures and collapsed lava bubbles. In some places, the lava is more than 160 feet deep.
Right down the road from the Valley of Fires Rec Area is the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site which is also a BLM run National Park. There’s a visitor center and small campground at this site. I’ll be honest, I spent as much time ogling the snow covered mountain as I did checking out the petroglyphs here.
The petroglyphs found at Three Rivers were made by a group of prehistoric Native Americans referred to as Jornada Mogollon. There are more than 21,000 petroglyphs at this one site. The sheer number of petroglyphs in such a big concentration makes Three Rivers one of the largest rock art sites in the Southwest.
Even though we know when these petroglyphs were made and have a good idea of who made them…we still don’t know what they really mean. We can guess, but we’ll never truly know.
There are also the remains of a Mongollon village that was occupied for around 400 years. The village was only partially excavated, but you can see part of three different structures.
Our favorite thing to do in Alamogordo is go visit White Sands which was recently changed from a National Monument to a National Park. When we were there in December 2019 the park was still working on getting everything switched over to National Park status stuff. We’ve been to White Sands many times, but it never gets old. We’ve spent two New Year’s Days at White Sands…so those gypsum sand dunes will always hold a special place in our hearts.
Anytime we’re in Alamogordo, we have to stock up on some of our favorite foodies. Pistachios are pretty high on our list of must haves and the ones from both Heart of the Desert and Pistachio Tree Ranch are awesome! We also fill our freezer with as many chopped green chilies as we can fit in it. The grocery stores there keep a supply of freshly roasted and peeled green chilies and jalapenos right in the produce section. It’s the best!! We stock up and then freeze them so we can use them throughout the year. I’m greedy with them though…I try to stretch out the good stuff so we don’t run out too quickly.
Confession: We were only in Alamogordo for a week…and we ate out every single day we were there. Every. Single. Day. And we’re not even sorry.
Every time we go back to Alamogordo it feels a little like going home to us. No, we’re not thinking about settling down there…but, we could definitely spend a season or two there. Not summer though…we’ve heard it gets way too hot.
