Mar 2 - The drive to Carlsbad, New Mexico

  We weren't sorry to be leaving El Paso, TX, and the road to Carlsbad, NM was all on one highway.  It went up into the Guadalupe Mountains, through some passes, and then for around 100 miles, we went through prairie/desert/high country.  There was no one around, no one living there, no services.  You could see to the horizon as the road went up and down the small hills.  Not a place to live, but it was surprisingly pleasant.  I kept singing the words to "Don't Fence Me In" by Roy Rogers:

O give me land, lots of land, and the starry skies above
Don't fence me in
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love
Don't fence me in
Just turn me loose, let me straddle my on saddle
Underneath the western skies
On my cayuse, let me wander over yonder
Till I see the mountains rise, etc

I can see why folks from here have a hard time in New England, feeling claustrophobic.  It felt so wide and spacious.

We stopped for a bit at the Guadalupe Mountains National Park.  It was right along the road to Carlsbad, and we wanted to get there timely, so we didn't explore the park.  However, we did stop at the Visitor Center and walk the 3/4 mile nature trail out to "The Pinery", to see the ruins of a mid-1800s Butterfield stagecoach station.  This stagecoach line took 12 folks plus mail and freight from St Louis, MO to San Francisco, CA in 25 days, driving day and night.  Ugh.
  Our Carlsbad RV Park in Carlsbad, NM is another typical RV park.  Not a destination park.  More like a parking lot, with many RV's close together.  Instead of dirt surrounding the sites, though, there is gravel, and even different colored gravel, to create "landscaping".  It's OK as a staging location.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park photos: