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My family and I are planning a 7 day road trip at the end of June. For sure we'd like to visit Roswell, NM and the Carlsbad Caverns, what are some other suggestions of things to see and do, places to eat etc? Any and all suggestions are helpful! Thanks!
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Is this a round trip? If it is, keep in mind, you really don't have a lot of extra time as it is. You need at least 2 days to drive each way. Factor in at least a day for the detour and to explore Carlsbad and Roswell, and you've already used up 5 of your 7 days. Presumably, you also have a reason for going to Amarillo in the first place, and you'll want to spend at least 1 or 2 days there, and you've already used up all of your 7 days.
Of course, there are no shortage of places you could stop along the way. Presumably, you'll mostly follow I-10 one direction, to get to Carlsbad/Roswell. That could also take you right past White Sands in New Mexico, as well as Saguaro NP near Tucson. Guadalupe Mountain National Park is also right near Carlsbad.
The other direction, you could take the more direct route back, which is I-40 - that generally follows the path of old Route 66. There are also several National Parks along the route, like Painted Desert/Petrified Forest. The Grand Canyon is also a detour that you could consider, however, again, would be difficult on your rather compressed timeline.
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At 1100 miles, this is a 2-day trip without any sightseeing whatsoever. Your halfway point, where there is actually someplace to stay, is Holbrook, AZ. If you went over via Carlsbad Caverns and Roswell, assuming you actually want to see something, it's about 2 days just to get to CCNP, another full day to see the caverns, plus another day to drive up to Amarillo and stop and see something in Roswell in mid-day. So there are 4 days over, 2 days back. That leaves one full day. How long did you want to stay in Amarillo?
Donna