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Exploring the Southern Half of the State

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If you would rather visit the Southern half of the state, it will also take you at least a week to visit the highpoints, but much longer to take in all of the treats hiding in Southern New Mexico. You will once again arrive at the Albuquerque airport and spend a night in town. Visit the Old Town Plaza to set the mood for the trip, and maybe visit the New Mexico Museum of National History and Science. End the day with a tram ride at Sandia Peak Tramway.

On Day 2, head west to Acoma Pueblo for some Native American history and then travel on to the New Mexico Mining Museum in Grants where you can visit a simulated mine. Continue south to El Malpais to see large black lava fields then on to El Morro National Monument. Travel a little further and spend the night in Socorro so you can get an early start at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Here you’ll see a plethora of migratory birds (especially in the winter time) as well as a number of interesting wildlife species. After visiting the wildlife refuge, finish out Day 3 by heading east to the Valley of Fires and feast your eyes on yet another lava field. Try to travel on to Ruidoso to spend the night which has become a booming resort town. Pick a nice resort as you will be spending two nights here.

While in Ruidoso, spend Day 4 taking a hike through the mountains or go snow skiing, depending on the time of year. For a fun family adventure, try having a chuck wagon dinner from the Flying J Ranch while enjoying their Old West show. Spend the night again in Ruidoso.

On Day 5, continue south through the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation. Continue into Alamogordo and visit the New Mexico Museum of Space History and then White Sands National Monument to see the great expanse of snow white dunes. Plan to spend the night in Alamogordo.

Take Day 6 to visit Carlsbad where you can explore not only the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park, but the amazingly beautiful Carlsbad Caverns as well.

Before heading back to Albuquerque on Day 7, stop through Roswell and tour the International UFO Museum and Research Center. Or, if aliens aren’t your thing, take a side road to Ft. Sumner to see where Billy the Kid once lived and is buried. Once you get to Albuquerque, have dinner at La Casa Sena to put a nice punctuation mark on your trip.

Next Page: A Two-Week Stay in New Mexico

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