Texas + New Mexico - Day 1

Road Trip


Jeremy's alarm jingles way too cheerfully for 04:00. We finish packing up the car, get the toddler out of bed, drive through Starbucks, and are on the highway at 04:40. Zelda is such a good sport and stays awake until we are close to Pueblo, Colorado. Jeremy drives first, getting us through Colorado and to Las Vegas, New Mexico. I sit in the third row of our Toyota Highlander with the middle seat in front of me folded down, my legs extended across it. Zelda is in her car seat, of course, facing back at me. I mostly read my book, the third installment of the Girls series by Natasha Ngan, Girls of Fate and Fury.


I take over the wheel in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and take us the rest of the way, driving us through a whole lot of nothing in North Eastern New Mexico. We stop in Roswell for lunch, and then continue on. Anytime we stop for gas or for food, we unstrap the toddler and let her climb around in the car and stretch her legs. She has a lot of fun with it.

Young girl in purple shirt and floral skirt standing in back seat of SUV with sunroof and purple bedding.

Pine Springs Visitor Center


We pull up and park at the Pine Springs Visitor Center at the Guadalupe Mountains National Park around 14:00. We go inside, thankful that our trip for the day is pretty much at an end, and check out the gift shop. We don't see anything in particular that we wish to have, so we just purchase the America the Beautiful Pass. I roll my eyes at seeing the pictures of George Washington and Donald Trump on it. It should be a nature picture.


We step back outside and I snap some photographs, both digital and film. We aren't planning on hiking any trails as we are exhausted and have the 19 month old with us. There are a few other entrances into the park that we can drive to, so we get back in the car after stretching and photographing some more. We notice there's a large van with Washington plates improperly parked across multiple spots nearby. I shake my head, and we pull away. I turn right out of Pine Springs Visitor Center, but that just ends up exiting the park. I pull over on the side of the highway to take more photographs of the mountains before turning around.

Rocky mountain peak with rugged cliffs, desert shrubs, and green trees under a partly cloudy blue sky.
Rocky mountain landscape with desert scrub vegetation under cloudy skies in an arid southwestern wilderness.
Rugged desert mountains with rocky cliffs rise above a scrubby valley under cloudy skies in a dramatic arid landscape.

Frijole Ranch


We drive over to Frijole Ranch, which is down a short gravel road. We get to that parking lot and find the Washington van here again. This time, he is properly parked, and his dog sits dutifully in the driver's seat. It's weird, because we don't really see anyone else here. Maybe he's in the back of the van. We get out and walk down to the ranch, which has several buildings on the property. There are a few barns and sheds. There is a quaint, stone house painted white, a pool house, a building that houses the natural spring, and a food-store next to the spring that was build there because the spring water kept fruits and vegetables cool like a natural fridge. Zelda has a lot of fun running around the ranch.


We return to our car, and Washington is gone.

Historic white brick cottage with wooden dormer window, gray doors, and large tree, showcasing rustic frontier architecture.
Weathered wooden door with glass panel set in rustic limestone stone wall of an old abandoned building.

McKittrick Canyon Visitor Center


We make a stop at the McKittrick Canyon Visitor Center. Guess who is the only other car in the parking lot? Washington. That's right.


There's not much for us to do here as we are not hiking on this trip, so it's a short stay. Again, we don't see anyone. It's kind of weird.


We leave, officially departing Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and leaving Washington behind.

White's City, New Mexico


We drive to White's City, New Mexico, where we check into our hotel. White's City Cavern Inn is very clean, and I'm happy with our choice. The town is extremely small. It boasts a population of fourteen people. There is a gift shop, a post office, a gas station, a "grocery store" (really like a gas station convenience store), and a café. The café is only open from 08:00 - 15:00 Tuesday - Saturday though, so we need to find somewhere else to eat for dinner.

Carlsbad, New Mexico


We drive to Carlsbad, New Mexico after getting settled in the hotel room and letting Zelda run around a bit. We choose to dine at a place called Yellow Brix. We walk in and absolutely love the patio area. We walk up to the host station, to a host that clearly doesn't want to be there and gives us a bit of attitude. She leads us to a table indoors, and I'm disappointed that we don't get to sit out on the patio. The disappointment is even deeper thanks to the host's unkind first impression of the business.


Jeremy orders meatloaf, and I get salmon. We each share bites with our daughter. The food and our server were both very good.


After the meal, we drove back to our hotel and settled in for the evening. Zelda even got to sleep in a queen bed all by herself - her first time sleeping in a grown-girl bed.