New Mexico Labor Day Weekend

New Mexico is called the Land of Enchantment for good reason. As the nation’s fifth-largest state, it is so much more than a desert. In fact, I have never been to a state where the landscape changed so frequently, depending on which direction we were headed. The geographic diverseness, rich culture, and ancient historical sites make this state the most underrated state to visit.

I think New Mexico was the greatest experience from the outside world that I have ever had.

D.H. Lawrence

My husband and I had a rare long weekend without kids and decided to fly into ABQ Airport on a Friday morning in September and returned on Labor Day. There is no way we could have packed in as much as we did with kids. I am forever grateful for the time we had in New Mexico and will never forget it.

New Mexico in September is hot. We upgraded our rental car to a convertible and didn’t do the best job at keeping sunblock on our faces. Mistake #1.

Mistake #2 was not planning food better. With the exception of a great breakfast in Santa Fe, we missed a lot of opportunities to experience good southwestern food. It seemed like a lot of restaurants were shut down or closed for indoor dining due to COVID-19 and honestly, since we were kid-free, food wasn’t a top priority. Sadly, we never did find that perfect southwest burrito, which I regret.

Mistake #3 was not booking a hotel ahead of time in Roswell. When we arrived, it was late and we were tired. All of the hotels were booked up because of a sporting event at the New Mexico Military Institute. We checked them all. We ended up staying at a hotel in the nearest town called Artesia which was another 40-minute drive. Not cool when you’re tired.

What we did do well was enjoy as much as we could in New Mexico in the short time we had. We fell in love with downtown Santa Fe, experienced soaking in a hot spring for the first time, snapped photos at many of our favorite spots in one of our favorite tv shows Breaking Bad, explored the quirky alien culture of Roswell, and got stopped at our first Department of Homeland Security Border Checkpoint. We missed out on Taos, NM because the pueblos were still closed due to COVID-19, and the Sandia Peak Tramway was also closed (although I’m not sure when we would have fit them into the schedule so maybe that was a good thing).

The highlight of the trip was the two national parks – Bandelier National Monument and White Sands National Park. Bandelier preserves evidence of human history going back 11,000 years, the petroglyphs, and ancient Pueblo cliff dwellings which you can climb inside.

White Sands National Park is unworldly. The dunes were created millions of years ago, when the ancient Permian sea retreated, leaving gypsum layers behind. Not your typical sand, the gypsum appears like snow that you can dune sled on if you’re up to it. Unlike silica sand, gypsum doesn’t absorb heat from the sun so it’s pleasant to walk on. The park is also home to the world’s largest collection of Ice-Age fossilized footprints and tells more than 10,000 years of human presence. So cool.

For proof that for as much planning as I do, it’s important to leave room for the unexpected. We stumbled upon the Hatch, NM Chile Festival which was happening during our visit but perhaps the biggest surprise was Valles Caldera Nature Preserve – a volcanic eruption impression that is home to elk and other wildlife. I love a good surprise!

3-Day Itinerary Without Kids

Day	To	From	Mode	Departure Time	Arrival Time	Trip Notes
1 Fri.	ABQ Airport	BWI Airport	Delta Airlines	3:13PM	9:04PM	There are no direct flights to ABQ so we had a short layover in ATL. I really like ABQ’s rental car set up and location in one central spot.
	Villas de Santa Fe by Diamond Resorts, Santa Fe, NM	ABQ Airport	Rental Car	9:30PM	10:30PM	We were only here for a night and this hotel was within walking distance to downtown Santa Fe so that was a plus. I was disappointed that there was not a single vending machine for drinks or water service after a long flight of being very thirsty.
2 Sat.	Downtown Santa Fe Plaza, Santa Fe, NM	Villas de Santa Fe	Walk	8:00AM	8:15AM	Renowned for its Pueblo-style architecture and as a creative arts hotbed, the Plaza is full of world-class museums and shopping! I wish we would have had more time here.
	Breakfast at Pantry Restaurant Santa Fe, NM	Downtown Santa Fe	Walk	8:15AM	8:20AM	Great southwestern breakfast in a prime downtown location on the corner.
	Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi	Pantry Restaurant	Walk	9:00AM	9:`15AM	This historic church was built in 1715 but looks brand new. It is symbolic of downtown Santa Fe and even if you’re not a regular at churches, it’s worth learning about the history.
	Downtown Santa Fe Market	Cathedral	Walk	9:15AM	9:20AM
	Bandelier National Monument, Los Alamos, NM	Downtown Santa Fe	Rental Car	11:00AM	11:50AM	A must-do in New Mexico.
	Valles Caldera Nature Preserve, Jemez Springs, NM	Bandelier NM	Rental Car	1:30PM	2:00PM	We stumbled upon Valles Caldera and wondered if we had accidentally ended up in another state. About 1.25 million years ago, a volcanic eruption created the 13-mile wide circular depression now known as the Valles Caldera.
	Jemez Hot Springs, Jemez Springs, NM	Jemez Springs	Rental Car	2:10PM	2:30PM	We had never soaked in a hot spring before and driving 50 minutes out of the way gave us a reason to see more of New Mexico. Jemez Springs is a small mountain town. Bring your bathing suit and a towel to try a natural soak in this beautiful area. The Jemez Monument is nearby, a ruin of a mission built in the 1600s. A restored Kiva allows visitors to view the churches native to the people of Jemez.
	Albuquerque Breaking Bad self-guided tour, Albuquerque, NM	Jemez Springs	Rental Car	3:30PM	5:00PM	You can book a tour of Breaking Bad locations or find them on your own like we did. We hit Los Pollos Hermanos, the homes of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman (be aware the private owners of the Walter White house are sensitive about tourists and like their privacy so do not go beyond the curb). We also had an A-1 day at the carwash!
	Roswell, NM	Albuquerque	Rental Car	7:00PM	10:00PM	Roswell is a 3-hour road trip from Albuquerque with many miles of flat landscape, no cars, and no cell phone service. Tip – be sure you have water and a full tank of gas.
3 Sun	Roswell UFO Museum, alien at McD’s, alien at Dunkin, and Roswell welcome signs Roswell, NM	Artesia, NM	Rental Car	8:15PM	9:00AM	Because we couldn’t find a vacant hotel in Roswell, we ended up 40 mins away. The Roswell UFO Museum is small but if you’re as fascinated with the history, it’s worth the small price of admission. The are aliens everywhere in Roswell! The town as fully embraced its unique history and we loved seeing all of the big name chain restaurants incorporate it into their exteriors.
	McGuinn’s Pistachio Land, World’s Largest Pistachio, Alamogordo, NM		Rental Car	10:30	12:00PM	A must-do! Not only did we love the world’s largest pistachio, Pistachio Land features a tour of the pistachio tree ranch and of course, you can’t miss their pistachio ice cream.
	White Sands National Park, Las Cruces, NM		Rental Car	12:30PM	1:00PM	A must, MUST do! Stop in the Visitors Center first where you can buy a sled and stock up on water. Temperatures can get 100+ degrees. There is a boardwalk inside the park with scenic views and information about the geology behind the park’s creation. The entire 16-mile drive of the park takes about an hour and some are unpaved. Tip – bring sunglasses. The sand is so white and reflective that it is hard to see!
	Hatch, NM		Rental Car	3:30PM	4:45PM	We didn’t realize it until we pulled off the exit but the world-famous Hatch Chile Festival was happening on the day we visited! The downside to this event in the Chile Capital of the World was that there were crazy long lines everywhere wanted to eat.
	Johnny B’s Restaurant, Truth or Consequences, NM	Hatch, NM	Rental Car	5:30PM	6:10PM	We stopped here because the name of the town was unique and we were hungry. The town seems to get a lot of recreational visitors from Elephant Butte Lake State Park. The restaurant was homestyle cooking with homemade desserts.
	Comfort Suites Albuquerque Airport Albuquerque, NM	Truth & Consequences, NM	Rental Car	7:10PM	9:30PM	We got a good deal on this room and chose it because it was about 5 minutes from the airport and we were flying out early the next morning. We were also REALLY tired and would’ve slept just about anywhere at that point.
4 Mon	ABQ Airport	BWI Airport	Rental Car	6:08AM	11:10AM