Mark and I finally did it! After months of frustration, stress, and dealing with atrocities out of our control – from having both our websites hacked, to rude Wirie customers, to issues with Blue Host, to incapable Mass Health employees messing up our health plans six times – we pulled ourselves away for a long weekend. Our destination: White Sands National Monument and Carlsbad Caverns National Park into warm weather. Both New Mexican highlights had been on the mental list since last summer, when we first house sat in Santa Fe for four weeks, but remained in the area.
So, we packed up Zesty, filled the water and diesel tanks, and drove south for about four hours. Lake Holloman became our free campsite for two nights, merely 3 miles away from the National Monument.
White Sands National Monument
The scenic drive brought us smack in the middle of dunes, created by the brightest, whitest of sand. Where is the ocean? To say that sand dunes in the Chihuahuan desert create a surreal scene, is an understatement. The longest trail in White Sands NM is five miles. Mark and I jumped on it. Or, should I say, in it? Not knowing what to expect, we found ourselves sinking in deep, when scaling dunes. Up and down it went, barefoot in soft sand, for a few hours. We felt like early explorers roaming the Saharan Desert under a beating sun, at noon. For fun. There were no other tourists on this loop trail. I wonder why? All we could see for miles was sand, dunes, red markers, and distant mountains. It was a wonderful experience, but the head and calf aches that followed were less glamorous.
Sitting Bull Falls
Mark and I planned our trip around a weekend with diminished winds. A few days before our departure, I stumbled across a Facebook post in the group Frugal Full-Time RVers. The accompanying photo showed a lush waterfall, in the middle of the New Mexican desert. It intrigued us. We added it to our itinerary for the weekend, and thoroughly enjoyed our visit to this off-the-beaten attraction. We discovered a second pool, hidden in the foliage. I had to take a dip, despite not bringing a bathing suit or towel. 😊
To make this unexpected destination even more of a winner, we discovered a perfectly free and peaceful camping spot for the night. Since the falls are located at the end of a long road into the hills, it was dead quiet after 5pm, and we had nature to ourselves.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
If you live in the United States, there’s a good chance you’ve heard about this underground system of caves. If not, just take my word for it that Carlsbad’s main attraction is incredible! And, that’s written by someone who doesn’t care much about caverns and being chilly underground. The network of paths, rooms, and decorations, as they are called (stalactites, stalagmites, drapery, columns…), is mind-blowing. Mark and I took the Natural Entrance trail (over 1 mile of switchbacks) into the depths, ate our sandwiches in an underground lunch room representing a village, joined the King’s Palace Tour, and explored the Big Room on a self-guided tour. Then, we were chilled to the bone, and took the elevator back up, 79 stories, or over 1000ft.
Roswell
On the long, five-hour drive home, we had to make a short stop in Roswell, alien heaven. An alleged UFO crash was reason enough to put this town on the tourist map, and attract visitors with all things outer space. After a quick stroll downtown, and lunch in our camper, we hit the, by now, windy road again.
That concluded our long weekend “down south”, and, yes, we enjoyed it. Our batteries are charged for these last weeks behind the computer in Santa Fe.
Frugal Tips:
- Every night with Zesty was spent at a free campsite (freecampsites.net).
- We paid about $120 for diesel, looking for the cheapest fuel stations in the area on our GasBuddy app (or gasbuddy.com). Zesty drinks about 1 gallon every 20 miles.
- We bought a new annual National Park pass for $80. This will allow us to visit multiple national parks in the US for a year. This pass allowed us entrance to all three parks visited on this trip.
- We splurged on a ranger-led cave tour to see multiple underground chambers, like King’s Palace, in Carlsbad Caverns NP. It was worth the $16 ($8 per person for the 1.5-hour tour).
- We cooked our own meals, so didn’t spend money on food or treats.
Have you ever been to any of these sites mentioned? Impressions?
May 9, 2018 at 09:51
Hi Liesbet! What fun and GREAT photos too. So glad to hear you got to go to two (maybe three?) bucket list destinations–and all so frugally too! I remember going to the Carlsbad Canyon when I was a kid…I’ll bet it has changed A LOT! Again, so glad you had a great time. ~Kathy
May 9, 2018 at 11:18
It was a pretty amazing weekend, Kathy. When in New Mexico, we’d like to see and do the highlights, of course. So, I’m glad we were able to manage so far. There are more sites we hope to explore in June. Not sure whether Carlsbad Caverns has changed much since your childhood, to be honest. The elevators, lunch room, and paved trails have been in place since the 1930s, I believe…
May 9, 2018 at 10:36
I haven’t been to any of the spots, Liesbet, but would love to visit all of them.
I was grinning while reading your post and looking at your photos. I’m just so happy that you and Mark took the time to recharge your batteries. It’s exactly what the doctor, and all of your blogging friends, ordered.
May 9, 2018 at 10:49
No but Carlsbad and Roswell would be fun to see. That tour was long – well worth it. Glad you got away for a while.
May 9, 2018 at 11:36
Those caves [strange to think you had ventured down 1000 ft!] and that glorious white sand to finish off with a colourful sunset, BLISS 🙂 Pleased to hear you both had a good break away Liesbet. Looked like you had a very relaxing time away!
May 11, 2018 at 14:15
Apart from the long drives, the weekend was a perfect balance between sightseeing and relaxing, Suz. It had been way to long since we experienced these feelings and moments. 🙂 Thank you for reading and commenting!
May 9, 2018 at 11:46
Hi, Liesbet – I am happy to read that you and Mark pulled yourselves away for an adventurous long weekend. Your photos are stunning — I almost needed to put my sunglasses on for the white sand, desert pics! I haven’t been to any of the sites that you have mentioned, but Carlsbad Caverns National Park is now on my list. I hope that April’s frustrations have disappeared and that May is looking sunny and bright ahead!
May 11, 2018 at 14:18
Those dunes were the most bright I have seen, since walking the sandy beaches of the Bahamas, many years ago. That’s when I realized the importance of sunglasses, something we, luckily, thought of when hiking this dune trail!
I hope you get to explore Carlsbad Caverns one day, Donna. But, there might be similar cave excursions closer to your home. Not sure.
April’s frustrations have melted a bit, but, unfortunately, many of the sources of these frustrations will linger for a while longer. One day, I hope to exclaim that life is good again! The sooner, the better. But, we have to remain realistic. 🙂
May 9, 2018 at 11:46
I’ve been to Roswell and what a strange place. It is so flat there, and the overall vibe is strange. I love the photos you’ve shared here and really want to go play in that white sand. I think it might feel a bit overwhelming to see nothing but sand in all directions.
May 11, 2018 at 14:20
How interesting that you’re familiar with Roswell, Ryan, Any sci-fi fans in your household? 🙂 You get the right sense about those dunes. It was weird, for me, to distinguish features in all that sand, and for the camera. It couldn’t focus on anything. It was confused with all that white, and nothing but white!
May 9, 2018 at 12:00
What an amazing weekend to get away from it all! The sand dunes look so pure and deep! The waterfall and pools look refreshing and the caverns look out of this world! Thank you for sharing these wonderful images Liesbet, it looks like you have some happy memories to take with you again 🤗💖 xxx
May 11, 2018 at 14:22
Oh, the sand was deep. A bit like walking on soft, sandy beaches, except the ups and downs made it exhausting. Our calves hurt for days! 🙂 And, the hotter it got, the nicer it felt on our feet to sink into the colder regions of the sand. Yes, the happy memories will not fade for a while. Until we can replace them with new, exciting experiences… Thanks for commenting and appreciating the blog and photos, Xenia. xx
May 9, 2018 at 13:30
Wow, what an incredible experience! Great photos. It sounds like it was a huge effort to get away, but it looks worth it.
May 11, 2018 at 14:23
Definitely worth it. Next up, we’ll make a loop and incorporate all the sights along the way. Well, that’s the plan anyway. 🙂 Those bright sand dunes made me think of your neck of the woods, Lucy!
May 9, 2018 at 14:31
I haven’t been to any of these locations, Liesbet, but sign me up! Your photos are amazing and those dunes…wow! They’re stunning. What a perfect getaway. You two should start another business…planning trips on a reduced budget. Thanks for sharing with us!
May 11, 2018 at 14:26
I love your enthusiasm, Jill! You keep me smiling with your comments. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos and the virtual sights. I think I might start with writing articles about the frugal way of life (one day, after I write four books, report on our RV adventures, write more sailing articles, and focus on some pieces about house and pet sitting.) 🙂 But, there is appeal to become some kind of guide or virtual help to people wanting a similar life as us. What’s, simple, straightforward and common sense to us, might not be to others.
May 12, 2018 at 04:16
I’m happy to bring some smiles, Liesbet! I know you and Mark are super busy, but I’m totally serious about the business. Often people don’t consider traveling because they think they can’t afford it. You can show them: YES YOU CAN! 🙂 Have a great weekend!
May 12, 2018 at 08:35
🙂 It is a good idea, and I’ll keep it in mind. Have a wonderful weekend as well, Jill!
May 9, 2018 at 16:00
Great destinations to explore, Liesbet. Thanks for sharing your recap and photos. Hope your May is going well.
May 11, 2018 at 14:26
Thanks, Natalie. The weather has been lovely, but focus is needed indoors. Luckily, the frustrations have eased a bit.
May 9, 2018 at 16:21
So glad you got to escape your troubles for a little bit! I’m not sure I could have gone down, down, down that far into the caverns. When I was younger, we always seemed to visit caves and caverns and I remember being kind of into them, but now I don’t like being underneath so much earth! The dunes look amazing, though.
May 11, 2018 at 14:29
Having paved trails, handrails and lit areas helped, Lexie. Plus, the strategic lighting made it possible to take photographs as well. I had no idea how they would come out, when viewed on my computer. To be honest, I never experienced this whole different underground world before to such an extent. Not something that would interest me often, but I enjoyed this visit, for sure. I’m trying to think what I liked as a kid, but don’t anymore. Swimming in the ocean, from the beach, has lost some appeal…
November 12, 2018 at 07:17
I just went back and searched your site for this trip after your comment on my White Sands post reminded me you’d done this. We even used similar words and ideas (where’s the ocean, Sahara desert), but I guess everyone would – it’s so surreal and suggestive of other terrains. We did the caverns, too, after I said I might not be willing to head underground on your post (haha). My son was there a month or so ago and told me I HAD to do it, and I’m so glad I did. Did you get to hike in Guadelupe Mountains Nat’l Park at all? It was spectacular!
November 12, 2018 at 14:37
I’m glad you combined the dunes with the caverns in one trip as well. We didn’t have time to hike in the Guadeloupe Mountains on that journey, as we just took a long weekend away from our jobs and house sit. And, it was quite the drive down from Santa Fe. But, all special and beautiful.
May 9, 2018 at 18:16
White Sand Dunes NM is intriguing. I’d love to return and explore more. Sounds like you enjoyed a great get away!
May 11, 2018 at 14:30
Intriguing is a good description, Ingrid. Very different than the Northern Arizona and Southern Utah scenes, though! An area I’m looking forward to return to. 🙂
May 10, 2018 at 07:14
We’ve been to Carlsbad Caverns – it was spectacular! Looking at your pictures of White Sands, I’d put that on a list to visit one day. Roswell looks like a fun little stop as well. What a fun and varied weekend you guys had.
May 11, 2018 at 14:32
I hope you get to experience White Sands one day, Ellen. Although, a sail to the Bahamas and dilly dallying in the white sands there might be a more attractive alternative.
May 10, 2018 at 09:28
Wow those white sands are impressive. Looks like a place you could easily get lost in. Is that what the red markers were for? Did you see any aliens in Roswell? 🙂
May 11, 2018 at 14:36
You got it, Denzil. The scenery sure all looks the same from the tops and the valleys of these dunes. Sometimes, it was difficult to even see the next red post. And, often, they put the markers on the crest of a dune, while there was no reason whatsoever to climb yet another one of those, to get to the next marker. Sneaky! We only saw fake aliens in Roswell. Funny you ask, because, for some reason, I expected to see something out of the ordinary. A disappointment… 🙂
May 10, 2018 at 12:59
Good find on the waterfall area with campground. Sorry we missed that! The link to the FB group did not work for me. Did you mean The Frugal RVer? That’s all I could find. You are making me want to get back out on the road again! 😉
May 11, 2018 at 14:38
I think the link just brings to you the Frugal RVer Facebook group, Leslie. Lots of people post there all the time, so posts disappear to the bottom of the page quickly. I hear you about wanting to get back on the road. Such an intriguing life. I hope Rhode Island is treating you guys well. At least, it should have warmed up by now. We’re basking in some nice 70-80 degree weather here. Well, looking at it, anyway. 🙂
May 10, 2018 at 16:35
Wow, Liesbet, this post has it all, beautiful photos of stunning scenery, good and bad times, bucket-list places to visit, and great tips on travel. Next January, we’re thinking about a camping road trip to Arizona (Grand Canyon, Sedona, Flagstaff if not too cold) and areas beyond with our new trailer (Hans needs to get that new truck). I’ll be checking out that free campsite page! We’ve been through New Mexico a few times when I was a kid and stopped to see the meteor crater. Good stuff, Liesbet!
May 11, 2018 at 14:45
A nice summary of my post. Thank you, Terri. In conclusion: welcome to our life, I guess – something good, something bad, something ugly, but hopefully lots of excitement and beauty as well. 🙂
I’m delighted to read that you and Hans are planning to travel with the new trailer. That will be so much fun, and diverse. Maybe we’ll run into each other in Arizona, next January. We’ve been using that free campsite page every night in Zesty, since we purchased her. Camping in nature for free is incredibly enjoyable for many reasons. I love boondocking!
May 10, 2018 at 16:43
I’ve never been to Carlsbad Caverns or Roswell… and I think maybe not White Sands either. Thanks for the heads up about a few places to add to our To Visit list!
May 11, 2018 at 14:46
I’m glad you liked this virtual tour of southern New Mexico, Janis! You guys need an RV and start exploring all these places. 🙂
May 11, 2018 at 06:54
My legs ache just thinking about those sand dunes, Liesbet, but what a glorious sight. 🙂 🙂
May 11, 2018 at 14:47
That’s the spirit, Jo. Sometimes, we have to suffer a little bit to immerse ourselves in beautiful surroundings. 🙂 And, the sky was blue!
May 11, 2018 at 08:07
On our trip to Las Vegas (a few years ago) I’m sure we stopped at a town near Roswell. I remember getting off the bus and sticking my heard through one of those photo opportunity frames where I became the subject on the aliens’ operating table. It’s in my photo library. I’m sure I can probably share it here in the comments (if you’re interested in seeing it, Liesbet 😀).
Those sand dunes look almost like snow drifts. I’d have certainly done the cave tour. The photography is great, and I love the thought of you and Mark having that part of planet Earth all to yourselves.
May 11, 2018 at 14:52
I had no idea you traveled in this area as well, Hugh. Quite the experience and the variety of sites. I’d love to see that photo of you on the operating table. But, I’m not sure whether photos can be added in comments. Let’s hope the text at least works next time! If it’s not too much of a hassle to retrieve that photo, it would be fun to see, though!
Thanks for those kind words, Hugh. It was so nice to be away, the two of us, without all the work stress, in a peaceful environment. I love being in nature, without other people around. Time to get back to those basics soon! 🙂
May 13, 2018 at 03:44
No problems with this comment, Liesbet 😀
Here’s that photo I was talking about. I hope it works, as I did discover a way of leaving photos in comments. Here goes…
http://hughsviewsandnews.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/img_1303.jpg
May 16, 2018 at 16:41
That’s a fantastic shot, Hugh. Thanks for sharing, and making me laugh! 🙂 Good idea to leave a link in the comments to see the photo, since WordPress doesn’t seem to allow photos embedded in comments.
May 17, 2018 at 04:40
Oh, it can be done, Liesbet, but only on WordPress.com blogs. I’m just glad that the link I left worked. Glad you liked the photo. Out of a bus load of people, I was the only one who had their photo taken with the aliens. 😀
May 19, 2018 at 09:57
It’s a fun photo, Hugh. Too bad you were the only one on that bus with a sense of humor!!
May 11, 2018 at 14:15
I love the photos of the dunes.. those wide open spaces, the colors. The caves remind me of some we went into in Central Vietnam. Am not generally a cave lover either but the “other worldliness” of it all, is incredible. I love the combo of the dunes, caves, Rockwell and skinny dipping! What a treat. So happy you got to finally get a break from the stresses of life and work. Yay!!
Peta
May 11, 2018 at 14:55
That whole different world in the caves reminds me (a little bit) of snorkeling the reefs, and being a part of a totally different otherworldly environment. Although, with snorkeling, I never lost interest, and could do that every day. And, it was warm. 🙂 I”m glad you enjoyed this post, Peta. Have fun on your European tour!!
May 13, 2018 at 03:38
Wow! I am glad to know you got some down time from a slew of hellish experiences. I hope that this is the beginning of a string of good experiences to come. Of the places that you’ve visited, I was only familiar with Carlsbad Caverns and Roswell. (Haven’t been to either but always wanted to visit and now I have courtesy you and Mark.). But is the pictures of White Sands that particularly attracted me. What a delight. Sending love from Gan where we are preparing for a trip to Madagascar via Chagos
May 16, 2018 at 16:39
You have another biggie coming up, Lisa! Smooth and fun sailing for that one, as always. I’m glad you made the time and effort to swing by here. Your visit is always welcomed and appreciated. Since you love the outdoors and the beaches, I think you would enjoy the dunes the most from this excursion. The waterfall was nice as well, but nothing compared to the ones we all saw in French Polynesia (and the Caribbean). 🙂
The hellish experiences have slowed down, but we really hope for a nice summer, without too many hassles and distractions.
May 13, 2018 at 04:15
Those all look wonderful and I haven’t been to any of them. Bucket list expands again!
May 16, 2018 at 16:43
We were excited to finally see a few more amazing sights, Anabel. It had been a while. In the past, we used to explore during the weekends, but because of the extra work pressure, we only managed to do this once in the last three+ months.
May 14, 2018 at 18:37
Wow, that’s what I call a great weekend! Loved the photos – the sand looked never ending, the swimming pitstop was gorgeous, and just wow on the cavernes! I know that mercury retrograde lasted so damn long and turned a lot of people’s technical worlds upside down. Glad it’s over. 🙂
May 16, 2018 at 16:44
Cheers to revived and restored technical worlds for everyone, Debby! 🙂 Let’s hope it lasts. At least we were in a house with facilities when it all happened. Soon, that’ll be over.
I’m glad you liked the photos. Yep, New Mexico needs to be on your list to visit, once you have that ranch in Arizona. 🙂
May 16, 2018 at 18:18
Oh, I think I’ll get to NM before I get any kind of ranch in AZ LOL 🙂
May 19, 2018 at 09:22
🙂 I’m sure there’s a good change of that!
May 15, 2018 at 08:59
How beautiful! Glad you had a chance to take a break.
New Mexico is gorgeous. I’ve wanted to visit for a long time. Hopefully my writing takes me there one day.
What did you think of Roswell? Was it worth the trip?
May 16, 2018 at 16:48
I hope you manage to visit NM soon, JH. Many incredible national parks and vistas. Roswell was overrated. We didn’t want to fork out the fee to visit the UFO museum, but we saw a couple go in, and come back out after ten minutes or so. Probably not worth it. But, it was kind of cute to walk among aliens painted and posted everywhere in town. Not sure why I thought I’d spot a real UFO… This would have been the place, but, nope! Roswell was on the way home (the road from Carlsbad Caverns goes all the way north, almost to our current doorstep), so nice to stop for a little break from the long drive.
May 16, 2018 at 07:44
You did so much during your short trip. It was amazing. Loved the photos. 🙂
Anna from elements of emaginette
May 16, 2018 at 16:50
Thanks, Anna. I’m glad you liked my virtual tour of Southern New Mexico. Not a bad place for a visit. 🙂
May 16, 2018 at 12:17
The southwestern United States is indeed beautiful and diverse. The National Park Pass is the way to go if you can, Liesbet. We’ve visited Carlsbad Caverns before. The ranger tours are great. We learn so much when we take them. Do they still have the nightly bat departure?
We’ve hiked in the southwestern deserts before. Much too hot for me. My husband likes to see the ruins mostly. If you like walking in sand and having a beautiful view, you might like Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado. The park sits on the eastern side of the San Luis Valley in a crook of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains between the main range of the Sangres and the spur of the Blanca Massif. [From the webpage] The cool thing is that it’s almost surrounded by rocky, green mountains.
Thanks for a great post. I’m jealous that you and Mark got to enjoy the quiet of nature without kids around. I bet the night sky was spectacular!
May 16, 2018 at 16:56
Yeah… Doing this National Park tour would be very different with children, as you know. 🙂 Still, being in nature is such a fantastic education for kids. I’ve always wanted to home school them on our sailboat (and RV), if we were to have any.
We did buy a national park pass on this trip, and will use it extensively over the summer. We have some fun plans, if we can stick to them. The only problem will be the crowds, as it will be high season in Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, etc.
Carlsbad Taverns still has the ranger tours and the bats at night, but they hadn’t arrived en masse from Mexico yet when we were there. Apparently, their numbers are dwindling. They were expected to arrive around now. Such a cool place to visit with a family, Victoria! The kids must have ooh’d and aw’d a lot.
I saw the Sands something national park in Colorado on the map before, and we hope to visit in June. Thanks for the tip! If it’s anything like the one in New Mexico, we will be in heaven. 🙂
Thank you for sharing your stories and swinging by here, Victoria. I know how busy you are!!!
May 20, 2018 at 20:41
Liesbet, those white sand dunes look just like big snow drifts — but fortunately for you, not cold like snow. I really love underground tours of caverns. Apparently there are caves near where we live now. We’ll have to go check them out.
Sounds like a weekend away is exactly what you needed after all those techno- frustrations.
Jude
May 22, 2018 at 16:33
When I was taking a photo of Zesty in front of the heaps of white sand, it did remind me of the heaps of snow in Colorado, when we visited Rocky Mountain National Park. But, you are right, this was much more enjoyable. The sand and the temperatures. And, this weekend away was exactly what we needed. 🙂 I hope you find and get to explores those caves near you. Vancouver Island just sounds and looks amazing.