Greenie Peak
Middle Fork Lake
Fly Fish the San Juan River below the Navajo Lake Dam
Ride the Train from Chama
Not sure where but we met a group of cold water divers in Santa Rosa heading to some deep blue hole

[This message has been edited by ragoo (edited 1/15/2014 8:21a).]

Unfortunately pull Bernalillo County and you pretty well pull the state.

Terrero, NM and hummingbirds: maybe 30-40 minutes from Santa Fe out past Pecos at the beginning of Holy Ghost Canyon is the general store that once was Terrero. It was a mining town back in the day, pretty much all of the buildings were leveled but the store/post office remains. They have hummingbird feeders on the front porch and the things are beautiful and very agressive. I had my daughter wear a red hoddie a few years ago when we were passing through there and she could run from them fast enough. We camped there in the 70's when I was a kid and I always dreamed of owning one of the turn of the century cabins that line Holy Ghost Creek.....had one picked out and was negotiating on it a year and a half ago but couldn't get the deal done. Unfortunately, last summer the entire area was ravaged by a series of wildfires. The buildings are all still there and the store is open for business but they were having real issues with mudslides and the mess that goes along with fires. Beautiful place, too many weekenders/drunks/gangbangers from Santa Fe and ABQ during high season.

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Not sure where but we met a group of cold water divers in Santa Rosa heading to some deep blue hole

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Blue Hole is IN Santa Rosa. I went for a quick swim there myself this year. Lots of kids, and busy, but a beautiful unique little feature. (although pretty much in town, so not really in a beautiful setting unless you like a parking lot).

parking lot with trash

WhoDat, I'm sure we have mutual friends. Both sides of my family are originally from Clovis & the family has a small ranch in Melrose.

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Fly Fish the San Juan River below the Navajo Lake Dam

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Definitely this. And don't think you need to know what you're doing either - so feel free to take the wife and/or a kid or two along. Just hire a guide (or two) to float you down the river and enjoy catching monster trout all day. Most of the fishing is indicator nymph fishing (think bobber) and casting requirements can be minimal to non-existent for the beginners in the group.

How's the skiing in Santa Fe this time of year?

I'm partial to the state parks in New Mexico. I've been to most of them, but prefer the ones in northern NM. A few of the don't miss:

Sugarite Canyon State Park: Site of an old coal mining colony near Raton. Nice guided hikes are available and fishing is good at two lakes in the park. Also close to Johnson Mesa and within driving distance of Trinidad.

Clayton Lake State Park: An oasis in the desert. Dinosaur tracks were discovered when it was built and you can take a short hike to see them. Nice fishing and hiking. Near Clayton, and a good overnight or two day stay on your way in or out of NM.

El Vado and Heron Lake State Parks: Two lakes that are very close to one another. Heron Lake is the northern Lake and completely within the park protected from development. It is known for being a no wake lake where sailboats are welcomed. Lots of nice camping spaces. El Vado is the southern lake and has some development around it. It allows motor boats, but the level has been so down in recent years that most people only jet ski. Good fishing at both lakes (notice a trend here?), but the real gem is the hiking. There is a nice trail along the Chama River that goes between both parks that is absolutely beautiful. Worth going for that trail alone. Near Los Ojos, a weaving community, and a short drive from Chama.

Coyote Creek State Park: A nice little park known for it's great trout fishing. Great campsites and a very beautiful mountain meadow feel. Some hiking trails are available. They have just installed a nice playground, so if you have small kids you'll enjoy it. North of Mora and near Morphy State Park.

Morphy State Park: A small park but containing an absolutely beautiful true mountain lake. Here you will be nestled in the pines. Fishing is nice and hiking is OK. You'll enjoy the isolation and ability to get away from civilization. Because of the size of the park, road and campsites, RV campers are limited to 18 feet. And, trust me, they mean it. You don't want to have to try to back a 35 foot trailer back down the mountain road.

Fenton Lake State Park: My absolutely favorite of the state parks in NM. We usually stay in the National Forest (the San Antonio campground on the San Antonio creek is the best IMHO). Fenton Lake is another place that is a beautiful mountain lake in a small(ish) park. The lake looks like it is right out of a post card, with big pine trees surrounding it, water lillys in the shallows and green grassy banks to fish from. Go in the winter to ice fish if you are adventurous. The area surrounding is national forest, and it is full of hot springs, so there are all levels of hiking trails to choose from. This park is north of Jemez Springs, a quirky community with no gas station, but with a spa where you (or your significant other) can take mineral baths and get a massage and then go for a cold beer and fried jalapenos at Los Ojos restaurant. For bonus points take your better half to Jemez Fine Arts (in a former gas station) or Jemez Pottery. If you go in the winter (for ice fishing) be sure to reserve a sleigh ride at the Valles Caldera. This is my secret don't miss it tip. If you are a fan of wildlife spotting, the Valles Caldera is the place to do it. On our sleigh ride we saw a herd of elk in the snow and it was breathtaking.

We live in Lubbock, and all of these places are a relatively short trip for us. We have an RV and have camped at all of the above, except Morphy Lake because we were too big. One of us likes fishing, the other hiking, and these parks give us the ability to do both. We tend not to spend lots of time in towns.

Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado is where we spend most of our vacations and we love it.

Also, Canyon gets my complete gastronomic endorsement for saying that Tacos Garcia in Amarillo has the best Tex-Mex (please go try the fried tacos everyone, you'll thank me).

If you want another good, but maybe not best in the state, green chili cheeseburger try Bode's General Merchandise in Abiquiu where you can also pick up some fishing tackle, fine art and groceries. I bought some old fashioned enamel wear for our trailer the last time we were there. (the kind with spray painted fruit on it, not the speckled) I also bought a New Mexico souvenir dishtowel and a homemade pecan pie.

As long as you are in Carlsbad to see the caverns anyway, go see the Living Desert State Park. Pretty interesting with some cool animals.

Go to +34° 59′ 20.00″, -106° 36′ 52”, right next to the little bush. Find some buried treasure. Also, see this monument:



But in reality, Carlsbad Caverns should be on everyone's bucket list. That place is breathtaking.

Speaking of Carlsbad Caverns...if you have the ability, go on Christmas Eve. You will be virtually alone in the Caverns and it is awesome. Any other time, you are one of thousands.

Making the drive from Marshall, TX to Santa Fe, NM next week!

easttexas: In addition to this thread suggestions, eat at Gabriel's north of Santa Fe on 285. Order guacamole made at the table. Stay at the Homewood suites just north of there at Buffalo Thunder. On the way, stop at the Charles Goodnight house and museum off 287 between Clarendon and Claude. Eat a hamburger at Coyote Bluff off Grand Street and I-40 in Amarillo, or Blue Sky at I-40 and Western if CB is closed.

A few miles west of the Texas border at the ghost town of Glenrio is a very nice new truck stop at Endee. Take time to go through the free antique car museum. Well, it is free, but they have a donation bucket for feeding the homeless.

Russell's truck stop

Everyone else: will update this thread again this evening, and later on as good additions are made.



[This message has been edited by CanyonAg77 (edited 1/16/2014 11:54a).]

One miss was Chopes Bar & Cafe at La Mesa S. of Las Cruces in the Rio Grande Valley. Definitely authentic NM cusine in a unique atmosphere. I'd take all my Yankees there for lunch when I was a prof at NMSU to set them on fire!

[This message has been edited by Spider69 (edited 1/16/2014 10:01p).]

Shiprock and angel peak have some good exploration and hiking areas around them, also Navajo dam is a good place for some fishing and is also pretty cool to check out

Not near as cool as any of the stuff y'all have pictures of, but I go to Lovington all the time for work and on the left side of the road between Jal and Hobbs there is a life size (or maybe bigger) scene on top of one of the plateaus that is made steel cutouts. Very artistic cowboy cutouts, and then just on the east side of Hobbs sitting out in a field with no signs or anything is the same sort of metal cutout of a B29 and crew preparing for a mission. Never have found out who made it or why it is there but it is really cool. Tried to take a picture with phone but did not work.

If you go to white sands in the summer look up their moonlight tours that they do in the evenings. Its a pretty unique and awesome experience.

If you get to San Antonio, skip the Owl and get a green chile cheesburger at the Buckhorn Tavern. Much better, nationally ranked, and featured on a "throw down" with Bobby Flay.

Stop in the Owl, though...history was made there

El Morro National Monument

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El Morro National Monument is located on an ancient east-west trail in western New Mexico. The main feature of this National Monument is a great sandstone promontory with a pool of water at its base.

As a shaded oasis in the western U.S. desert, this site has seen many centuries of travelers. The remains of a mesa top pueblo are atop the promontory where between about 1275 to 1350 AD, up to 1500 people lived in this 875 room pueblo. The Spaniard explorers called it El Morro (The Headland). The Zuni Indians call it "A'ts'ina" (Place of writings on the rock). Anglo-Americans called it Inscription Rock. Travelers left signatures, names, dates, and stories of their treks. While some of the inscriptions are fading, there are still many that can be seen today, some dating to the 17th century. Some petroglyphs and carvings were made by the Ancestral Puebloan centuries before Europeans started making their mark.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Morro_National_Monument

+1 for El Morro...while you're out there, might as well stop at the Bandera Volcano and Ice Cave (not much else in that neck of the woods).

[This message has been edited by Noblemen06 (edited 1/30/2014 10:13a).]

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while you're out there, might as well stop at the Bandera Volcano and Ice Cave

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Yeah, that too. Couldn't remember the name of it.

This thread is great...New Mexico can get a bad rap but my three years here have been quite eye opening. Aside from the politics, I have come to love this state second to Texas. So much nature, history and culture to experience.

I wouldn't mind the AF sending me back one day.

[This message has been edited by Noblemen06 (edited 1/30/2014 10:29a).]

Lived in Hobbs for three and a half years and saw much of the state while traveling for work. The best part of New Mexico is seeing the Welcome to Texas signs... and maybe the casinos.

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Not near as cool as any of the stuff y'all have pictures of, but I go to Lovington all the time for work and on the left side of the road between Jal and Hobbs there is a life size (or maybe bigger) scene on top of one of the plateaus that is made steel cutouts. Very artistic cowboy cutouts, and then just on the east side of Hobbs sitting out in a field with no signs or anything is the same sort of metal cutout of a B29 and crew preparing for a mission. Never have found out who made it or why it is there but it is really cool. Tried to take a picture with phone but did not work.

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It's a B-17. Where that park sits today was once Hobbs Army Airfield, home to a B-17 training base. There's still practice targets scratched into the desert surface from Hobbs to Roswell and beyond. Most of the buildings are all gone (a hangar was moved to the Hobbs airport) but the ramp and a couple of the runways still exist. A drag strip uses one runway and they built a prison at the far western end of the base.

The cowboy cutout outside of Jal is a cattle drive. Commemorates the town's ranching heritage.