When the time came to select our Thanksgiving week destination, I was really only considering national park units. I gave my family the choice: visit a state we had been to multiple times with NPS sites we had never visited or a new state. They chose to visit a new state, whereby my goal to visit three new national park units and some American history sites came to be.
Because I wanted to treat this trip as a mini road trip, I chose to select sites that were relatively close to one another, giving us an opportunity to explore different areas in a semi-small range. We began by flying into Lubbock, TX (via Dallas/Fort Worth). We caught an awful 6am flight to ensure our layover wouldn't be too tight. The DFW airport is pretty massive, so it was wise to choose that awful flight, even though we had plenty of time before our flight to Lubbock.
Day 1: Chicago to Lubbock TX
Once we landed in Lubbock, Augie and I made Toby pull over in the rental car, as it was our first time seeing cotton fields. We hopped out of the car and high-tailed it to the field to touch the cotton. Spoiler alert: it feels like [aptly named] cotton balls! Haha! This was a VERY short stopover on our way to the Buddy Holly Center, where we toured, learned about Buddy's life in Lubbock, TX, and got to see some memorabilia, including his iconic glasses, which he was wearing when his plane went down that fateful night in Clear Lake, IA. We also toured the J.I. Alison house, where songs like "Peggy Sue" were written! While its current location is not original, the home is. From the center, we drove by Holly's parents' home, where Holly married Maria Elena, followed by a stop to pay our respects in the Lubbock Cemetery. In Lubbock we also enjoyed walking the Texas Tech campus, eating food along the road nearest campus, and a photo op near the fairgrounds where a beautiful "LBK" mural is on display.
Because of our early start to the day, we called it a night shortly after dinner, as we had another early start the following day.
Day 2: Amarillo, TX
Day two of our southwestern adventure brought us to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. I was disappointed that the longhorns weren't near the fence to see, but the park did NOT disappoint. Holy smokes! They call this park the grand canyon of Texas, and while nothing truly compares to the Grand Canyon, the beauty of this well-maintained state park cannot be understated. The park had just experienced incredible flooding, so some of the easier trails we had hoped to hike were closed; however, we very much enjoyed most of the CCC Trail (although we did not hike it in its entirety). We hiked far enough to see incredible views, a lot of malachite (that I had to resist taking), and the amphitheater from the top of the hill. After our hike, we headed back to the Visitor Center to warm up and use the facilities. Traffic was picking up, and we had a lunch reservation at the Big Texan.
I'm not sure much more can be said about the Big Texan other than it is nothing to be taken too seriously. The food was good, the entertainer enjoyable (he played John Denver and Dolly for us), and the gift shop and shooting arcade were hilarious. It was a fun lunch stop and oh-so-very Amarillo. We also stopped at Cavender's Boot City. We tried on the most garish, expensive boots we could find, but it was fairly obvious what we were up to, considering the number of serious shoppers wearing serious gear who were throughout the store. Ranching must make the big bucks, because I cannot fathom spending that amount of money on boots that are sure to be covered in dust, dirt and, well, you know...
After our romp at Cavender's, we headed to Cadillac Ranch. But remember that rain and flooding I mentioned? Because of the rain, all but two of the Cadillacs were accessible without waders. The kids were also dismayed that I didn't bring spray paint. The good news is that plenty of people left their paint for others to use, so we were able to leave our mark at Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, TX. We ended our day in Clovis, NM, crossing another state off our family bucket list.
Day 3: Clovis, NM/Roswell, NM
Our first event of this morning was the memory I will cherish most deeply from our trip. We scheduled a tour of the Norman Petty studios with tour guide Kenneth Broad. Ken was tough to get ahold of, as he is 90 years old and had quite a few medical procedures scheduled near the holidays. However, Ken and his daughter Kendra met us that morning and gave us such a beautiful tour of the studios, allowing us to touch items of such historical significance, I cannot express just how grateful I am for the experience. To hear Buddy Holly's music in the same seat where Norman Petty sat to produce it was spectacular. And just when I thought the tour couldn't get any better, we were lead into the recording studio, where we were able to play the actual celeste used on "Every Day," the piano that Vi Petty played in "Think it Over," and even the Hammond Solovox Keyboard that supplies the distinct sound in Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs's "Sugar Shack"!
We touched guitars, microphones, an organ, among other instruments used by world-famous musicians and local musicians. Ken and Kendra lead us through to the kitchen, where the Crickets would have snacks like take out taquitos from Foxy's Drive-In (which we HAD to sample after our tour)! I loved the old-fashioned microwave, formica table, and vintage service ware, but what absolutely sold me was the apartment in the back of the studio. Two twin beds and a living area around a fireplace made the studios a home away from home for young musicians (and ensured that the recording session finished in a timely manner for these broke musicians)!
Ken and Kendra were so hospitable, sharing personal stories with us, making us feel right at home in New Mexico. We loved our tour and cannot express just how grateful we are to the both of them for their time. The best part? Ken is NOT a musician. He was a pastor in nearby Portales, NM who needed AV work done on their church equipment. That's how he met Norman and is carrying on his legacy and stories today.
It was difficult to leave such amazing history, but the scrumptious snacks from the Foxy Drive-In and the knowledge that we wouldn't see much civilization until Roswell kept us going.
Roswell is a drive through town, not a destination. We could've driven to Carlsbad faster via a different route, but when you are "this close," why not stop? Which is how we ended up in Roswell, where we toured the International UFO Museum and Research Center. The lore is thick here, and while I'm not quite sure what I believe, I know that the people of Roswell have capitalized on their fame in a Walmart Wisconsin Dells sort of way. I appreciate the tee shirts and trinkets, as well as the good-ole-boy first hand accounts (and some of the derpiest alien artwork EVER), but we were more than happy to keep on moving toward our final destination for the day: Carlsbad, NM (where were had delicious local pizza delivered to our Air B&B).
Day 4: Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Guadalupe Mountain National Park
Because we had lived in hotels the past few nights, it was time to spread out in an Air B&B with laundry availability. I started laundry the previous night, because there is no rest for the wicked. But Day 4 of this trip brought our busiest schedule yet: we were doing the "2-park challenge." It's like the 4-park challenge at Disney without the characters...teehee! The plan was to visit two national park units in one day...
We started with an early 8:30am entrance ticket to Carlsbad Caverns, where we WALKED the natural entrance into the Big Room. We saw beautiful cave formations, and the sheer size was breathtaking. We enjoyed our tours of Wind Cave in South Dakota and Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, but Carlsbad takes the cake. I would return, if only to see the bat flight that occurs in the evening since the bats had all migrated south for the winter by the time we arrived. We got a snack at the snack bar and used the facilities (how do they have toilets and running water down there?) and used the elevator to return to the top, where we participated in the Junior Ranger program, made our gift shop purchases, and got lunch from the cafeteria, where we had the most delicious chili. Like, so good I wrote a review! Legendary.
After lunch, we headed south to Guadalupe Mountain National Park, where we explored the tiny visitor center and earned our Junior Ranger badges, followed by a hike of part of the Pine Springs Trail, and the entirety of The Pinery Trail. This park is rugged, and wild, and so picturesque. I cannot imagine hiking here in the heat of the summer! As the sun was setting, we decided to drive a bit farther south to the Guadalupe Mountain Viewpoint and the Salt Basin Overlook, but due to the construction, it wasn't quite conducive to sightseeing. However, the drive was beautiful, and it was neat to consider how both of the parks we visited were geologically connected.
We ended our day at Red Chimney BBQ in Carlsbad, where we played the world-famous (okay, it's not famous at all) Johnson family "Everyone Order to the Left" game. We looked at the menu and decided what the person to the left of us would most enjoy for dinner and that was how we got our dinner! We thoughtfully considered the person and meal options and had fun ordering for one another.
Day 5: THANKSGIVING DAY--Travel Day
There is NOTHING, and I mean, NOTHING, open on a holiday in the Southwest. I had called nearly EVERY restaurant in Alamogordo (our final destination) to see what would be open, and I was met with a whole lot of nothing, so when I contacted the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park in Carlsbad about their availability on Thanksgiving Day, I wasn't expecting much; however, not only was the park OPEN, but it was an absolute treasure! The $18 admission for our family of four was a steal, and we spent a ridiculous amount of money in the gift shop for our friends back home to support this beautifully unique zoo. The four of us enjoyed the meandering path that included desert animals and plants native to the area, including several javelinas, that we quite enjoyed. However, the mountain lion and bobcats stole the show, and the amount of time we spent oohing and aahing over these creatures was absurd! Even the succulent greenhouse captivated us! This stop was an unexpected surprise.
From there, it was time to drive the 2.5 hours to Alamogordo. I had spent quite a bit of time scouring Google Maps for this trip since so much of what we were doing was driving through expanses of desert with very few stops for gas or bathrooms. I was worried about getting into a lurch in the middle of nowhere with zero cell service. I was right to be worried, as this stretch of the trip had literally zero gas stations (or civilization of any kind) for over 90 miles; however, it was one of the most gorgeous stretches of highway! We drove about 25 minutes north to Artesia, NM, where we enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving lunch at iHop (tee hee!), followed by 90 miles of vast deserts, farmland, ending with a stunning meander through the Lincoln National Forest. It was jarring to go from desert to mountain in such a short span, but I was fortunate enough to drive this stretch, and I soaked up its beauty as I wove our rental car through the twists and turns, climbing up the mountain to Cloudcroft, NM.
We rolled into Alamogordo, our final hotel of the trip, in late afternoon. We loved our hotel, in the foothills of the Lincoln National Forest, nestled against the vast White Sands Missile Range. We landed on a bountiful Thanksgiving dinner feast of Sonic takeout eaten in the hotel lobby, followed by a viewing of "Moana 2" at the local movie theater! The day Augie had been waiting for was almost here, our final day of vacation, so we tucked in after our movie for a day of fun and adventure at our final national park of the trip.
Day 6: White Sands National Park
The front desk at the hotel had a sign that made clear there were sleds available for its customers to use at the park, so we began our day there. The concierge made clear we would need four sleds, as it was an experience we wouldn't' want to share. I am SO GLAD she encouraged us to take four, as all four sleds were in constant use all day. We were also given sand board wax to use, making the wax I purchased irrelevant (and this hotel amazing, since it saved us nearly $50 in rental fees)!
We arrived at the park a bit later in the morning, as we slept in, and the Visitor Center was busy, but we found a parking spot and took care of our park business before heading into the park. The part of the park that is accessible is actually quite tiny, so we knew we had lots of time. We drove along the Dunes Drive, entering a stretch of roadway that is not paved, but rather sand that has been compacted by vehicles (with recently "Sand plowed" sand hugging each side of the "road"). We were so eager to sled, so we stopped at the Back Country Camping lot, as it was one of the first parking lots with dunes that looked appropriate for sledding. We waxed up our boards and quickly learned the difference between sledding on snow and sledding on sand.
Sand is unforgiving!
Sledding on sand does not have the same smooth, slow ending that sledding on snow has. When you've reached the end, your sled comes to an ABRUPT halt! We managed to pack down a pretty fantastic path and enjoyed sledding for a bit. We also walked atop the dune and took some photos, looked at animal tracks (a roadrunner, perhaps?) and meandered, looking for prime sledding. We decided to move one parking lot over and try those hills. They were BRUTAL! The hills were so steep, and climbing the dune over and over again was a workout! This was when Harper discovered her fingers were bleeding. The desert air is a level of dry us midwesterners are not at all used to. She managed to split her knuckles open while sledding because of how dry her hands had become, and trying to bandage her finger to keep sand out was a near impossibility. She persevered, and we TACKLED those dunes over and over again! This was hours of entertainment, and it was quite late before we decided to call it a day and head back into the visitor center to be deputized as junior rangers.
While this would've been the perfect end to the perfect day, we needed to hit up McGuinn's Pistachioland to see the World's Largest Pistachio before we headed in for the night. We chuckled at the monstrosity and the way this family was able to capitalize on their pistachio farm for tourists! We got our pressed penny and the last of our gifts for family and friends, as well as some pistachio ice cream! There were an overwhelming number of people there, but it was well-worth the stop. We would have never known about it, had it not been for Kendra, our tour guide at Norman Petty Studios, who made sure we knew it existed! We are so grateful for the tip, and we enjoyed our photo op with the pistachio!
Day 7: Travel Day Home via El Paso, TX
I booked flights home via El Paso, TX, and I managed to snag first class, as it was only $120 more expensive than the main cabin seats available! We were all excited to pretend to be fancy for the ride home!
However, before our flight, we had one more stop planned: Chamizal National Memorial. Chamizal was disputed territory given to the U.S. after nearly 100 years. LBJ managed to broker a deal with the Mexican President, creating a man-made channel for the Rio Grande, ensuring land disputes between Mexico and the U.S. wouldn't be muddied by a meandering river. What is striking, when visiting Chamizal, is the markers still present, noting the Mexican border, reminding visitors that the land where they are standing was once in Mexico.
This was a gut-wrenching visit, made all the more impactful by the fact that we drove by a detention facility on our way to the memorial. The indistinct, makeshift shelters, coupled with barbed wire fencing and trespassing notices were a stark reminder of the harsh reality of land borders, even as we spent time at the memorial, which was land that once "belonged" to another country. The arbitrary nature of borders was painfully obvious, as we could stand atop a grassy hill and see Cuidad Juarez just past an imposing fence and busy highway. It was cold and unwelcoming, and it was an emotional way to end our trip.
Reflections:
The impetus for this trip was to cross another state off our family bucket list. As of this trip, the Johnson family has, together, visited 26/50 states, with one more scheduled for June 2025. While I don't know how relevant or important it is to cross off new states with my kids just for the sake of crossing them off, there's something fun about really exploring an area of the country we'd never thought we'd get to. I'm sure most visitors to New Mexico visit Santa Fe or Albuquerque, but a stopover in Lubbock and Amarillo provided us the chance to cross off southern New Mexico and its two national park units. This became a delightful road trip, and I am so proud of my kids for their sense of adventure and their flexibility. I scheduled far less in this itinerary than normal, and while they praised me for my pacing this time around, it's only because there was literally nothing else in the area to do!
Just don't tell my kids!
Our next two big adventures are much more people-y, so stay tuned as we gear up for Disney VI in April and a GIANT trip to visit Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park (with a new country--Canada--as well!) in late May/early June!
In the meantime, local adventures will have to tide us over.
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