Southwestern Adventure
A week off from work and the goal to get my car from Phoenix to Kansas City turned into another road trip adventure. Might as well make the most of a twenty plus hour drive. With the help of an awesome app I discovered (Roadtrippers) no time restriction, we were able to squeeze a lot of sights into three days. Racing the sun was our biggest challenge because once it went down, the middle of nowhere seems a lot less welcoming. I knew I wanted to see the White Sands National Monument, so we chose a route through the southern part of New Mexico-a state I had yet to visit and one that I would definitely return to (well part of it at least). But before we made it there we stopped at "The Thing". There were signs for miles advertising this rest stop and claiming that this THING was something to be seen. So we took the bait and stopped. A great place if you need gas and souvenirs- I won't say anything more :)
Sunset was approaching and we wanted a good amount of time at the White Sands, so we got on our way and made it to the national monument. Some of these photos will be auctioned off at the Artist Relief Fund at Ballet Arizona this coming Saturday!! Come support!
As the sun disappeared so did the warmth. Our next mission was to eat and find a place to sleep. I thought it would be nice to wake up near the forest and hike so my app directed me to a wonderful hotel- The Bismark Chalet Inn in Ruidoso. It was next to several other budget hotels but was the only one with character. Even a whiskey barrel sauna! We had a real fireplace and homemade muffins waiting for us in the morning! Such an adorable town-close to Lincoln National Forest and hundreds of hiking trails!
Next stop, which was my suggestion- Roswell, New Mexico. The drive was incredible-rolling hills, trees and gorgeous views. When we got closer to the town, the beauty dwindled quite a bit and so did my high hopes. In my head I envisioned a small town with an alien themed diner, just like in the CW series Roswell that I may or may-not have been obsessed with in middle school. However, it was far from it and Max Evans was no where in sight. We ate a local diner and went into some interesting stores. There was a giant scrapbook store that we got some craft supplies at. The people working were very intense and we couldn't keep our cool as the lady was telling us about this backpack with about 20 hidden pockets. The pockets were apparently for toys... Anway, we mad sour way to the alien museum and were instantly weirded out. We went through quickly and decided to leave Roswell behind. Not our fave spot but I do recommend the TV series. I made Myles watch some of it to redeem myself.
We never looked back. Onto Texas-our goal was to make it to Cadillac Ranch before sunset. A nice texan cop slowed down our travels but we were off the hook with just a warning and back on our way. During the sunset we were still driving but it was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. Califronia and Arizona have the most breathe-taking sunsets ever but I am used to seeing the clouds and colors over the ocean or through the mountains. This was 360 degrees of flat land and every direction I looked was a different color palette. The bright florescent pinks one way, then purple pastels the other, and every shade of yellow in between. We pulled up to cadillac ranch just before this stunning scene dissolved and it became dark. Cadillac ranch is ten cadillac cars that someone buried in the ground and started to paint. People from all over come and graffiti the cars. There are inches of paint layered on each car. Pretty cool to see.
Onto our next destination-a place to sleep. We made it into Oklahoma for the night and despite my efforts to find a unique hotel nearby, we settled for a Days Inn (I won't go into detail but not a place I would recommend and very iffy service!!!). But we made the most of our night and decorated picture frames from the lovely scrapbook store in Roswell. In the morning our only goal was to find an awesome coffee shop in Oklahoma City and make the final leg of the drive to Kansas City. And that we did find- Elemental Coffee Roaters! AWESOME coffee and breakfast to finish off our trip. Can't wait for the next one!!
