Stop in NOLA and onto the "Land of Enchantment"
Updated: Aug 15
We arrived at the KOA New Orleans in River Ridge, LA on April 7th for a 3-night stay. We had never visited New Orleans, so we were excited to explore the city. We decided the best way to see all of the sights in a short amount of time would be to do the Hop-on-Hop off bus tour. This way we had the opportunity to see multiple sights along with informative narrative all in one day. Unfortunately, it was a little rainy and chilly the day we did the tour, but we had a great time nonetheless.
We spent the rest of time in New Orleans enjoying the parks, beautiful architecture and delicious food.
Touring around New Orleans
We also visited The National WWII Museum. The museum offers immersive exhibits, multimedia presentations, a vast collection of artifacts, and firsthand accounts to take visitors deep into the impactful story of World War II. We found the museum very educational and spent about 2 hours visiting the various exhibits.
WWII Museum
We enjoyed our short visit to the Big Easy. The city is full of southern charm and warm hospitality.
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Before leaving the state of Louisiana, we made an overnight stop at a wonderful Harvest Host location. Snow White Sanctuary in Vinton was the perfect stay on April 10th. The farm is located on several acres of beautiful land on a off-beaten country road. The owners made us feel at home and welcomed us to roam their land and interact with the resident animals. Horses, pigs, goats and dogs were just some of the animals we met during our stay. It was a great experience and made for a peaceful night's sleep.
Relaxing stay at Snow White Sanctuary.
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The next day, April 11th, we crossed the border into Texas where we made Colorado River RV Park in Columbus our home for the next 5 nights. We took advantage of the large, indoor jacuzzi while we were here. Pat did a little fishing at the campground pond. We visited a local brewery and enjoyed some down time at the RV park.
Time in Columbus, TX.
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On April 16th, we spent one night at a Harvest Host, Alamo Beer Co., in San Antonio. This was a great location and within walking distance to the San Antonia Riverwalk. Before walking to the River Walk, Pat tried a local brew from the brewery.
Alamo Beer Co.
The San Antonio River Walk, often simply referred to as the River Walk, is a picturesque urban waterway and pedestrian walkway located in the downtown area. It is one of the city's most popular and iconic attractions, known for its charming ambiance, scenic views, lush landscaping, and vibrant atmosphere. There are several restaurants, cafes and shops on both sides of the river. We stopped for some authentic Tex-Mex cuisine before heading back to the RV for the night.
River Walk
This was our 2nd time in San Antonio, but we enjoyed the River Walk so much the 1st time, we wanted to come back. We were glad we did!
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Springtime in New Mexico
After 2 more overnight stops we were in the "Land of Enchantment", the beautiful state of New Mexico. Last time we were in New Mexico, we only spent one night at a Harvest Host spot, but we thought it was such a pretty state, I put on our bucket list to explore more of the state next time around.
On April 19th, we arrived at Carlsbad Caverns RV Park in Carlsbad for a 3-night stay. I booked this RV park because it was close to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Carlsbad Caverns, a massive limestone cave system, is known for its incredible underground caves and unique geological formations. We loved exploring the caverns with breathtaking stalactites, stalagmites, and other formations that have formed over millions of years. We also enjoyed hiking above ground, too. It is truly an amazing place!
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
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Our New Mexico journey continued with a quick stop in Roswell, NM at Trailer Village RV Park for a 2-night stay. We had to check out this unique town, known for its association with the alleged UFO incident that occurred in 1947. It's often referred to as the "Roswell UFO incident." Many believe that a UFO crashed near Roswell, and the U.S. military initially claimed it was a "flying disc," but later said it was a weather balloon. This incident has fueled numerous conspiracy theories and made Roswell a hub for UFO enthusiasts. We visited the International UFO Museum and Research Center, offering a deep-dive into the Roswell incident and UFO related topics. It was a little quirky, but we had a good time reading about all things alien. The entire town really embellishes on its UFO roots with some sort of alien theme displayed in almost every establishment.
Downtown Roswell and Museum.
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On April 24th, we drove north to Albuquerque, NM and stayed 5 nights at Route 66 RV Resort. Apparently, Albuquerque is known for being the location of the Breaking Bad television series. We visited the Breaking Bad store/museum and posed with the characters. We also took Myah to the 10,679 feet elevation of Sandia Crest so she could play in some snow. We ventured into Old Town Albuquerque, ate dinner at a delicious Mexican restaurant, El Pinto, and hiked in Petroglyph National Monument, where we discovered several interesting petroglyphs carved into volcanic rocks by Native Americans and Spanish settlers 400 to 700 years ago.
Adventures in Albuquerque.
The time went by fast, and before we knew it, we were heading to our next destination.
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We ended the month of April in Santa Fe at Trailer Ranch RV Resort on April 29th for a 5-night stay. We really enjoyed our time in Santa Fe. We spent our time hiking, exploring the city on foot and bike, ate the local cuisine, tried a new drink, and had an overall fantastic time.
Santa Fe proved to be very bike-friendly, and we took advantage by biking several miles around the city. During one bike ride, we came upon a place, Leaf & Hive Brewpub, that specializes in crafting an alcoholic beverage mixed with a probiotic-rich culture, called Jun, and local honey. They use organic herbs and botanicals to create a delightfully sweet and healthy adult beverage. We shared a flight during our visit and bought a couple of bottles to bring home. All the unique flavors were so good!
We loved the southwest vibe with the adobe buildings and admired the architecture of the city churches. The Loretto Chapel was particularly interesting because of its "miraculous staircase". Check out the website to learn why the staircase is claimed to be a miracle.
Touring around Santa Fe.
We loved Santa Fe so much, we wished we had more time there. I guess we'll need to put it on our list of cities we'd like to return to someday. Time to move onto the last destination on our New Mexico trek.
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We arrived at Taos Valley RV & Campground in Taos on May 4th for a 4-night stay. Taos did not disappoint. We crammed so much adventure into this short stay. We walked along the Rio Grande River, visited Taos Pueblo and took a drive to Taos Ski Valley.
We were lucky to enjoy a perfect, blue-sky day to hike the Rio Grande Gorge which flows along the Rio Grande River. We began our hike by going over the impressive Gorge Bridge, a sight to behold at 650 feet above the river. This makes it the fifth highest bridge in the United States.
Rio Grande Gorge
We visited the living Native American community of Taos Pueblo during our stay. This UNESCO World Heritage site is like stepping into a living piece of history. The adobe buildings, some over 1,000 years old, were amazingly well-preserved. We went on a walking tour and learned how the adobe is made by mixing earth with water and straw. The Pueblo consists of many individual homes built side by side and layered on top of each other. There are approximately 150 people currently residing in the village. Some of the locals sell goods, such as art, pottery, and jewelry. We bought some cookies that were made in a horno, a mud adobe outdoor oven. They were a little dry but edible. We spent a couple hours walking around the Pueblo learning about the history and the culture of its residents.
Toas Pueblo
Myah needed more snow time, so we decided to take a drive to Taos Ski Valley where there was just enough snow to let her have some playtime. It was a beautiful area and drive and Myah definitely enjoyed herself!
Taos Ski Valley
Our time in New Mexico had come to an end. We spent 5 wonderful weeks in this amazing state. From the food, culture, breathtaking scenery, we enjoyed every minute. It's time for these traveling nomads to continue their journey and move on to the next state, "Colorful Colorado".