Carlsbad, Oliver Lee, and Las Cruces

May 1- 15, 2021

TL;DR: The Carlsbad Caverns were empty (and enormous), the second vaccine wasn’t that bad (for Brian), and we hiked up a record 3,500 feet! Southern New Mexico treated us to really beautiful landscapes, from 40-mile views at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park to panoramic mountain vistas in Las Cruces and El Paso.

The stats

Hikes: 5
Hiking miles: 27.7 (5,986 ft elevation gain)
Miles in Layla: 657
Rattlesnakes seen: 1
McFlurries consumed: 2

The sights

Carlsbad Caverns

Jess had visited the caverns before with her family, about 20 years ago, and it was super busy the entire time. But the entire first half of our journey down into the cave was practically empty. It was pretty great and awe-inspiring, in spite of the strong guano smell near the entrance. Almost a little glad that we had to wear masks!

Cool formations, stalactites, and stalagmites everywhere. Some of the super jagged ones were quite menacing and we were wondering if they would ever fall. Pretty amazed at the work that went into creating the path and the electricity down there.

Almost felt like we were walking into nothing at one point because it was so dark. Once we got down to the bottom, it was mainly a series of smaller rooms until we got to the bigger room, which is 600 yards long.

Started feeling a little long at the end and a little crowded. And just feeling a little musty/so humid. Would be a weird place to be a ranger.

Oliver Lee Memorial State Park

This was a gorgeous find, and home to one of our longest and more epic hikes, the Dog Canyon hike. We did this two days after the vaccine and basically felt like superheroes. Had a pretty perfect morning to kick off the first ¾ of a mile, which was 800 feet up.

Had a nice scenery change about three miles in with a cholla field with ocotillo and cacti mixed in.

Once we really started the climb, it was pretty steep, but again, the views were totally worth it, both in front of us and behind us into the valley and beyond to White Sands National Park.

Didn’t really get to a “top” but did get to the trailhead on the other side and decided to go a bit more down a road we saw, and were rewarded with a nice panoramic view.

We normally go super quickly on our way back on hikes, but some very steep/rocky sections kept us moving slowly on the way down with a single walking stick (the other lost its little pad) and burning quads.

We welcomed the distraction of 30- to 40-mile views of the valley below, the next mountain range and White Sands.

Also cool to see a few dust and sand storms whipping up across the valley.

Las Cruces

Explored quite a bit from the RV park, starting with the Organ Mountain Range/Desert Peak National Monument, which was super far back from the road and right next to the Aguirre Springs Campground, which looked really gorgeous with lots of flat RV spots (good note for next time).

Really cool view of the mountains along the way: From the east side, we saw Sugar Loaf Peak and the Needles (step and sharp/sawtooth-style), and on the north end were Rabbit Ears and Baylor Peak.

Walked the Baylor Canyon Pass hike, which was right along the mountains, with beautiful views in every direction. Not too difficult or steep until the very end, with lots of brush, cacti, and sotol right next to the trail. Also these huge electrified-looking trees. A little further up, you can see where the landscape changes from desert into Rocky Mountain Coniferous Forest (!). Even saw a cute pack of mule deer right at the end.

Drove 45 minutes east to Franklin Mountain State Park in Texas, which was in a residential area and felt a little random. Totally different kind of hike called the Maze/Cardiac loop, which had allll the layers and lots of sotol and rocks everywhere.

Another day, we drove to Hueco Tanks State Park, which started with a 17-minute orientation video to educate visitors on how NOT to destroy the tanks by writing all over them. Pretty sad. But still a cool spot nonetheless. Quite an oasis, as the huecos are tanks (shocking!) that store rain water year round. Was sacred land for the Native Americans, who did 3,000+ drawings. Only about ⅓ of the northern side is open to the public and the rest is only accessible by guided tour.

Saw a herd of Auodad AKA Barbary sheep on one of the loops that were climbing all over the rocks. So cute!

Drove to the Mission Trail, saw the Presidio de San Elizario, Socorro, and Ysleta missions, which all looked pretty similar, and had either flooded or burned down since the originals were built in the 1600s.

Visited the Centennial Museum on the UTEP Campus, as well as the El Paso Museum of Art, both pretty cool and amazing that they were free.

Visited Truth or Consequences and the beautiful RiverBend Hot Springs. Got the Apache Pool, which had a deep bench and infinity edge, with views of the mountains ahead. Such a lovely way to start the morning and we got out just as it was starting to get really warm.

Wanted to check out the Prehistoric Trackway National Monument, but apparently there weren’t any open or visible tracks at the time, so we decided against it.

Our second visit to see the other (west) side of the Organ Mountains was pretty stunning with sunset-dappling light and fluffy clouds.

Details, details, details

Decided to start the Mortal Kombat trilogy from the beginning (a Bri favorite), and Jess was pretty entertained by the first one. The second one was pretty terrible (how could you kill Johnny Cage in the first 5 minutes?!). Then we watched the new one, which was very entertaining with the updated CGI.

On Route 285, we saw two cowboys across from each other, which was apparently artwork commissioned by two brothers and done by John Cerney.

Saw a Western Diamondback rattlesnake crossing the road at Oliver Lee. Were very careful about going in and out of Layla after that.

Saw a bunch of Las Cruces teenagers taking prom pictures in front of the Organ Mountains, which was quite cute.

And then this happened…

When we got back from the Caverns, a tire cover had blown away and someone had brought it back and put a rock on it. So nice!

When we went to Albertsons in Carlsbad, we were checking out and the cashier gave us an entire box of Monopoly pieces. So now Bri’s on a mission to get through them all.

Drove about 360 miles out of our way to get Layla’s leveler fixed in Albuquerque after Bri had set up an appointment a month ago. Turns out, the guy Bri had been talking to went on paternity leave that morning, and the new guy just looked at our file 15 minutes before we got there. Long story short: They originally told us the warranty covered the $2,000 part, but turns out they don’t. So guess we’re gonna risk it until it breaks. Fingers crossed.

We were also supposed to pick up Jess’s computer from a new contractor in Albuquerque but of course it didn’t arrive in time…

We DID successfully get our second vaccine in Albuquerque, so not a total loss! Had a pretty rough second day but otherwise felt OK, especially after we got a McFlurry at the end of the second day.

Bri got his first official long-hair haircut! Lookin’ good.

Now we know

The Caramel-Brownie McFlurry is not nearly as good as Oreo.

Hawk Alley has no hawks. Or at least none that bothered to show up for us!

Roadfood

At Taqueria Las Catrinas, we had the biggest plate of the juiciest al pastor tacos, piled high on fresh corn tortillas with grilled pineapple.

For 42 years, Blanca, Esther, and their families have made the most delicious, spicy green chile burritos and more in Hatch, New Mexico.

Where we stayed

Nights one through four: Spot E3, Carlsbad RV Park and Campground, Carlsbad, New Mexico

Laundry was $7/load, but otherwise served as a reliable home base from which to catch up. Was pretty windy at points, up to 30 mph. There was also a family of slightly cross-eyed park cats that hung out/around Layla the whole time.

Nights five through seven: Spot 32, Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, New Mexico

Had a really wonderful spot here tucked right up against the mountain range and could see White Sands and 30 miles in the distance. Super clear and tons of stars at night. No hookups, though, and it was pretty hot at night.