Ahhh. New Mexico, the home of Breaking Bad and UFO sightings. I was very young the first time I traveled to New Mexico, so this time was way more memorable. We stayed in Santa Fe for a couple of days and spent a lot of time in the downtown area. The art scene is huge there; we went from gallery to gallery observing various art forms. I loved it. Art is different for everyone—different subjects, different mediums, and different sizes. The jewelry stood out to me the most.
After some time in Santa Fe, we headed south to Taos Pueblo. We attended a tour of the pueblo and learned its history. I also bought a bracelet from someone who lived there. You could buy delicious snacks and jewelry in this town of vibrant buildings.
We then went to White Sands National Park. I bought my postcards at the gift shop and then went out to the seemingly never-ending hills of white sand. This park is unlike anything I have ever seen. It was something out of a dream. I felt like I was walking through an artwork. My camera didn’t leave my face very much when I was here. I was taking shot after shot of the rolling hills that led to mountains with the sun going down behind them. From taking so many photos, I was hoping that my camera could capture the immense attraction, but it couldn’t. Some places I have photographed have captured the entire essence of the area, but this time, I simply couldn’t. I don’t say this lightly; you just HAD to be there. I recommend this place to everyone: my friends, my professors, and my Uber drivers. It is not a super popular national park, which I kind of understand since it is simpler than other parks, but to me, this is more than just walking through a forest; this is an experience. Don’t get me wrong, I love forests. This wasn’t me making an experience; it was me stepping into one.
After the sands, we drove to Carlsbad Caverns, another national park. By this time in the trip, I’m pretty exhausted. I didn’t know what to expect with these caverns. The entrance to the cave is pretty amazing; it’s a very large opening, and you can barely see inside. Once we stepped inside, the path went down, down, down. It was quite beautiful; I was fascinated by the rock formations. I had forgotten I was hundreds of feet underground in a cave. We took the elevator back up and headed back to Santa Fe. On the way back north, we stopped in Roswell. It was pretty fun; everything is alien-themed, including the McDonald’s. Before you leave Roswell, make sure to fill up your gas tank. We headed north for about 50 miles before realizing we had 30 miles left in the tank, and the closest gas station ahead of us was 70 miles away.
