We got up in the morning and reorganized the camper (again) and hit the road, ready for New Mexico. The landscape similar to Nevada through the rest of AZ. Many oil fields and brown grasses.  We got to the state line, and just like when we crossed over from NV to CA, the landscapes changed immediately. There were rolling hills instead of flat plains, trees and bushes instead of tumbleweeds, and cute little towns here and there instead of nothingness. There were even white top mountains in the distance.

  

We stopped in Pie Town and struggled through the lunch when we new that there was pie afterwards. 

YUM!

  

Next, we passed the VLA, Very Large Array,a radio astronomy observatory. 

VLA

  

Mom went to college with Alisa and her parent’s, Thom and Sadie, live in central NM. 

We arrived at their house around 5:00, and we were amazed at first sight! They had over 400 acres of land, rolling through mountains and a river that went over the road! When we got to the house, we got to sit down and eat one of the best meals we’d had so far. We talked around the table for a few hours, (and had blackberry pie for desert), and the day caught up with us and it was time for bed. 

3/22/15 

The next morning, we got up before the sun and went out to the greenhouse with Thom. He grows all kinds of things in his hydroponic greenhouse. There were different greens and tomatoes that were delicious. 

  

In Lincoln, NM with Thom, Sadie and Patton

  

Later that day we got a personal tour of the historic downtown in Lincoln and learned about the lifespan of Billy the Kid. The town is picturesque and visiting with friends was one of the highlights of our trip so far. 

We left after our tour and drove until we reached Roswell. We went to the International UFO Museum.

  

It didn’t hold our interest so we headed to Carlsbad and spent the night at a nice campground.

3/23/15

The next morning we woke up and went straight to Carlsbad Caverns. The minute we got there we figured out why so many tourists came to the small oil town. There was a natural entrance that was huge, and when we were walking down to the actual cave on a trail that took us back and forth, back and forth, just like Lombard street in San Francisco. When we were in the caverns, it was as if the decorations in the cave were in a competition and trying to top each other’s beauty. There were stalactites  hanging from the ceiling, each more mighty and strong than the other. The stalagmites were all so huge that they looked like mini volcanos oozing out lava. We would walk into one room and say, “Well, this is the most beautiful room by far”, and we’d walk into the next room and boom! There is a new favorite. It was really dark in the cavern, and so some of the best pictures didn’t turn out.