Bluegrass Retired Chick

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Days 8 & 9: Alamogordo, New Mexico

Day 8 & 9: Carlsbad, New Mexico to Alamogordo, New Mexico - 2 nights

Miles: ~164 miles
Left: 10 AM, Arrived: 2PM
Weather: Sunny, low 80s

We had an easy morning at camp before getting on the road. Steve did some more birding and got a few new birds. We were on the road by 10AM. The drive over the Sacramento Mountains was beautiful. We drove though Lincoln National Forest & up to Cloudcroft (~8,500 feet of elevation) before coming back down to Alamogordo (~4,300 ft). There was some snow at the top of the mountain.

For a future trip, we want to investigate Cloudcroft, NM. We saw several RV parks along way & there seems to be a lot of hiking in the area.

Snow!

Tunnel!

Lincoln National Forest - White Sands in the Distance

Truck & Trailer had No Issues Driving the Pass

We got to our first KOA of the trip in Alamo/White Sands around 2PM. The sites were close together, all gravel but full hook-ups, laundry & showers. Great place for a couple of nights to get cleaned up, get provisions & do laundry. Set up at site was quick & easy as it was a pull through site.

KOA Alamogordo / White Sands

KOA Kamp K9 Dog Park

Around 3PM we headed to White Sands National Park. We got our stamps then went to explore the park. There is an 8 mile loop & several places to pull off to explore the dunes. We did a lap around then pulled off at the meet up location for the Sunset Ranger Walk. Although it was hot & sunny, the sand, which is actually gypsum, was cool to touch. It felt great on bare feet. We explored a bit then joined the Sunset Stroll. It was informative but hard to remember all the information they shared with us. The oldest human footprints were found here & are dated 23,000 years ago!

White Sands is between the Sacramento Mountains & the San Andres Mountains. A really, really, really long time ago, they were once one mountain range before splitting apart. After the guided walk concluded, we watched the sunset then headed back into town. On the way back, we ordered a pizza to go from 1st Street Patio Pizza. We got it with green chilis, I liked them, Steve did not, they actually hurt his teeth. So weird. Once back at camp, I did 2 loads of laundry and also switched out my cold weather clothes with my warm weather ones then called it a night.

Another Stamp in Steve's Passport!

The Sands are Actually Gypsum

Steve Walking a Ridge

One of My Favorite Vacation Pastimes

Sunset at White Sands NP

The next day we were up early & since it was Saturday, it was run day for Steve. We drove to White Sands & while he got his run in, I hiked the dunes. Such a beautiful place especially around sunrise & sunset. After Steve finished his run, we did some more dune hiking & took several photos. It’s really fun to walk up & down the dunes, especially barefoot. We went back into town for a late breakfast at Our Country Kitchen. Pretty good & quick.

Saturday Run Day!

In the afternoon we made a stop at the Pistachioland road attraction...Worlds Largest Pistachio. They had samples of all of their flavored pistachios, which we tried most but ended up with a bag of plain old roasted & salted. We did get a scoop of their pistachio & chocolate java. The pistachio was the better of the two flavors. They also offered tours which probably would have been interesting but we didn’t want to wait an hour for the next tour. We spent the rest of the day running errands & getting ready for a long travel day to Catalina State Park.

Pistachio Land!

Alamogordo / White Sands KOA

Private Campground
Site #2
Rating 4/5
Great Private showers - heated & lots of hot water
Laundry Room, Kamp K9 Dog Park
$50/night with KOA discount
Full hookups, including sewer
Gravel sites close to each other.
Campground was quiet at night
Easy access on edge of town

Next Stop: Catalina State Park Arizona!

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Day 6 & 7: Carlsbad, New Mexico

Day 6 & 7: Sweetwater, TX to Carlsbad, New Mexico - 2 nights

Miles: ~260 miles
Left: 7:15 AM Central Time, Arrived: 11:15 AM Mountain Time
2 Pit stops
Weather: Party Cloudy, mid 80s & so Windy, 15% humidity

We slept great as it was a very quiet area. We did hear the wind and an occasional train but otherwise a quiet location. We plugged our coffee maker into the truck since we were not on shore power or using the truck generator. We drank our coffee, walked the dogs, packed up & were on the road shortly after 7AM. Lots of open roads as it was a very rural area of Texas. We stopped early to fill up & get breakfast & coffee at Wendy’s. Coffee & breakfast sandwich was meh, but the home fries are pretty good for a fast food restaurant.

When we got to the New Mexico State line we stopped to take a photo since we were on state road & could easily pull over. New Mexico was a new state for Steve! When we got to New Mexico we also crossed into Mountain Time. Once we hit 8AM MT I called White's City RV to reserve a spot for the next couple of nights. This time of year is pretty easy to get last minute sites especially since it was mid week. We decided on White’s City RV since it was 7 miles from Carlsbad Caverns & only 30 minutes from Guadalupe Mountains NP. The reviews were so-so but decided to try it because of the proximity. They offer a discount for AAA/AARP members so the rate was fair.

New Mexico!

I embraced the bandanas on this trip!

We stopped at Hobbs, NM at the last gas station before heading out of town to fill up. It was busy since this part of the state has a lot of miles between gas stations. We were trying to keep the tank 1/2 full or more at all times. We got to White’s City around 11:45AM MT and even though we arrived early they let us check in & our site was already vacant. Sites are in a gravel lot but the site was level. All sites had full hook ups and each site had a shared covered picnic shelter with two tables. With this setup you are facing your neighbor. Our neighbors were a friendly couple from New Hampshire but are currently full time RV’ers traveling the country.

White's RV park

As you can see, the sites were close which is why some of the reviews were mixed. We typically want a lot more space at our campgrounds but the selling point for this place was that it's 7 miles from Carlsbad Caverns. Since the site was a pull through & level, setup was easy. We ate lunch, fed & walked the dogs then headed to Guadalupe Mountains National Park with the dogs.

Guadalupe Mountains is the largest exposed reef in the world with fossils everywhere - so the rangers tell us. We got our passport stamped & since we had the dogs we did the short prairie path walk. We put Sammie in the dog stroller & walked the Pinery Nature Trail. It was late in the day so we didn’t have much time to hike. This would be a great place to explore more. On our way out we drove through the National Park campground. It was mostly a parking lot but was cheap & close to some of the trail heads. There were water & toilets but no hookups or dump stations. Good for an overnight or two to hike the trails.

Another National Park

Yes, Our Phones had Trouble with the Time!

Pinery Nature Trail - Photo by Steve

Sammie in the stroller

Pretty Sure Belle is Standing on Sammie

We got back to camp around 5PM & made pasta for dinner. Since we were in Mountain Time, sunset was before 6PM & we were treated to an amazing sunset. Cleaned up, walked dogs & in bed by 8:30PM again….we were tired!

Working ALL the Burners

Epic Sunset! Photo Does Not do it Justice

Next day we were awake early again. Slept OK but was a little warm. Thankfully Sammie is still doing OK. Carlsbad Caverns has Timed Entry & I booked our entry for 10:30AM. Normally the park opens at 9AM but they had training so didn’t open until 10AM on this day, so we had time before we had to leave camp. Filled the time with coffee, birding, journalling & omelettes for breakfast before we left for the park.

We got to the park around 10AM, got our passport stamped then got in line to go into the caverns. It’s off season so not a lot of people although there was a line since the park just opened. There is an option to take the elevator down to the Big Room or you can walk down the original trail. We opted for the walk down of course. The original trail is about a mile but took an hour & a half to walk down. There was so much to take in. No words can do it justice. We learned that Carlsbad Caverns is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Since it wasn’t crowded we were able to take in all the sites without people around us for the majority of the trip to the Big Room.

Once we got to the Big Room, we decided to head back up to the Visitor Center for lunch at the on-site restaurant….meh. We did take the elevator back down to tour the Big Room. The Big Room is about 1.25 miles but took us ~ 2 hours to see everything. An amazing place and with the exception of the lighting, it is all natural.

The Opening

It Goes Way Down There

Lots of Switchbacks

One of the Pools

Another Bandana Day

Mirror Lake

We got back to camp arrow 3:15PM. Dogs did well. We kept them in the camper with the air on. They most likely slept the entire time we were gone. They are getting used to the new routines. We took them on a walk then messed around camp the rest of the day. The area had a small grocery with limited provisions, gift shop & laundry mat. There was a restaurant across the street that was open for breakfast & lunch but we didn’t have a chance to try it out. There was also a gas station & small motel nearby. Other than that, Carlsbad was about 20 miles away.

White's City Provisions

Aliens with Guns!

Shenanigans

Overall, it was a great stay but too short of stay. At least 2 more nights would have been better to explore Guadalupe Mountains. In future, would consider staying 2 nights at Pine Springs Campground at Guadalupe National Park, 2 nights at White’s City RV park and maybe 2 nights in Carlsbad proper.

White's City RV Park

White's City, New Mexico
Private campground
Rating 4/5 - Only because of the proximity to Carlsbad Caverns.
Don't remember the site number
Private showers but the drain would back up after a few minutes. Gross
$44 / night with AARP discount
Full Hook ups
Covered picnic table
Gravel lot, level site
Off Season - Campground was very quiet
7 miles from Carlsbad Caverns
Road Conditions: OK

Next Stop: White Sands - Alamogordo, New Mexico

Thursday, April 9, 2026

Day 5: Avenger Field

Day 5: Ennis TX, to Sweetwater, TX - Avenger Field - National WASP WWII Museum - 1 night

Miles: ~255 miles
Left: 10:10 AM Central Time, Arrived: 2:45PM Central Time
2 Pit stops
Weather: Sunny, mid 70s & so Windy

I woke up around 6AM after another good sleep. High View Park was a very quiet campground. We took an easy start to the day & made omelettes and toast for breakfast. I took the dogs for walk while Steve did some birding. Cleaned up camper than showered before leaving. Campground had nice showers with lots of hot water.

We were on the road shortly after 10AM. There was SO much construction around Dallas & Ft Worth!! Winds were still strong & made for terrible gas mileage. We stopped at one rest area & one gas station before reaching our Harvest Host location around 3PM. The temps were in the mid 70’s & sunny but very windy. We parked the camper, got the dogs settled then toured the WW2 WASP museum.

WASP = Women Airforce Service Pilots. Avenger Field was home to the WASP training facility during WW2. They trained women pilots to fly various military aircraft for shuttles, test flights, ferrying people & training. Once they graduated the women were deployed all around the country.

The museum was in two hangers. The first one had lots of memorabilia from several WASP and later pilots and astronauts. There were a couple videos playing the history & interviews of several WASP in their later years reflecting on their service. The second hanger had four old airplanes & other war exhibits. I bought one of the books about the women & the WASP program. The Women with Silver Wings was so well written & very interesting. Overall a very cool museum that I would never have heard of if not for Harvest Host. Highly recommend a stop if in the area.

We spent the evening in the camper. It was so windy all evening. The dogs were not a fan of the wind or the gravel lot. Made dinner in the camper & prepped for the next days drive to Carlsbad, NM. We were in bed by 8:30PM. Still getting used to being on the road but each day is getting better & more into our routine.