Trip from Houston to Roswell, NM

[SM_of_2_in_TX]

Hi! Newbie here! I've been out to NM several times, most recently with my Dh in the last few years as his family lives out there. But, due to circumstances, this is the first time we're able to take his kids out there. They're Sd14 & Ss12.

They've never been on any kind of long car trip other than the 3 hours to my parents house pretty regularly, and once out to San Antonio (about 4 hours). We're planning on stopping overnight about halfway to break up the trip. I'd also like to find some interesting "tourist" or senic things to see or do to allow for breaks and to help fight boredom. Usually when Dh & I go out there we just drive straight thru, trying to get to his parent's house as soon as possible. We've never taken the time to even see if there was anything interesting.

I have wonderful memories of summer vacations in the car with my family when I was a kid. Despite the normal sibling bickering! And despite my dad yelling at us from the front seat, and my mom giving us "the look". You know, the stare with the one raised eyebrow, that actually held more weight than the yelling from dad! LOL! I loved seeing all the neat places across the country that looked so different than where we were from, visiting my cousins along the way, sometimes camping, and sometimes spending a night in a motel. With a swimming pool, of course! The Grand Canyon, Yellowstone Park, seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time, Carlsbad Caverns, the giant redwoods in Northern California...these are all memories that I treasure, and but I'm afraid my stepkids won't ever see.

So, does anyone know of any interesting stops along the way between Houston & Roswell, NM?

[Quebec Gen]

Hi SM_of_ 2_ in_TX and welcome to the RTA Forum!

So, does anyone know of any interesting stops along the way between Houston & Roswell, NM?

As you go west, San Antonio is a neat city to explore : The Alamo, Brackenridge Park & Zoo, the Riverwalk, Spanish Missions (San José, Conception and San Juan Capistrano), Six Flags, etc. If you have some extra time, I suggest you make a detour south via Big Bend National Park.

In New Mexico, visit the Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Here are a few fun spots for kids : Shrine of the Miracle Tortilla in Lake Arthur (here's an article about similar food-related discoveries throughout the U.S.), UFO Museum & Research Center and the Crash Down Diner in Roswell , Smokey the Bear Historical State Park in Capitan. On US 70, stop by White Sands National Park where for 3$ you can drive and hike through huge dunes of white gypsum sands.

Have a fun trip!
Gen

[Mark Sedenquist]

Hi! Newbie here! I've been out to NM several times, most recently with my Dh

Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum! {What is a Dh and Sd and Ss -- darling husband?} Family road trips are the best -- even with the all of those pesky "are we there yet?"s

So, does anyone know of any interesting stops along the way between Houston & Roswell, NM?

Here are a couple of ideas -- sorry they are in sort of a random order -- that seems to be how my memory works these days...

A ranger-led underground tour of the lower caves at Carlsbad is pretty cool. There is some crawling involved and I wouldn't recommed that trip if you don;t like dark, tiny spaces -- but it is fun! I don't know if you have time to go Big Bend -- but I have always liked Terlingua -- Grub and entertainment at the Starlight Theater is great.

The Judge Roy Bean visitor center is a bit touristy, but Langtry could be on your way. But even better would be a visit to the Alamo in downtown San Antonio. Also in town is the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum -- again a little touristy -- but the sandwiches are tasty and pretty cheap.

If you go by way of Austin and it is dusk! -- go to south side of Congress Avenue bridge (near the Austin American-Statesman parking lot) -- the underside of the bridge is home to a few thousand Mexican Free-tail bats and now is a perfect time of year to see them in all of their glory.

For other Texas-related sites -- I always consult this excellent site.

Happy Planning!

Mark

[AZBuck]

...just in case you haven't gotten enough ideas.

From San Antonio, you can head west on US-90 and see the 'other' Alamo, the one built for the John Wayne movie outside of Bracketville. If you go this way, then a good half way place to stop would be Del Rio and the Amistad National Recreation Area. Then the Judge Roy Bean Museum Mark mentioned is on the way at the start of the second day. I also agree with Mark that Big Bend is probably a bit too off the line of march to include on a two day trip, but another quick stop for this day (Carlsbad is great, but will not be quick.) might be the Fort Davis National Historic Site..

AZBuck

[SM_of_2_in_TX]

Thanks for the replies, and the warm welcome!

Dh (darling husband), Sd (stepdaughter), Ss (stepson)....sorry bout the confusion, I'm a stepmom (SM), and a member of a forum for stepmoms without bio children. I'm just used to using those abrev out of habit.

We actually took the kids to San Antonio last year, and saw the Alamo and the Riverwalk. They’ve spent quiet a bit of time in the Hill Country in central TX, having been to summer camp out there, and to Canyon Lake with us a couple of times, as well as New Braunsfels’ Schliterbaun.

We’re taking the kids out to Dexter (1/2 hour south of Roswell) to visit Dh’s parents family, and while we’re there we’ll take them into Roswell to see all the UFO stuff. On this trip to NM we'll be visiting White Sands on our way from Ruidoso to Alamogordo (where Dh grew up), and then out to City of Rocks State Park (north of Deming, NM) for a couple of days. If you've never been there, it's a really neat spot! From there we'll head back east to Cloudcroft and camp a night there if possible. We will be going to Carlsbad Caverns, but we're saving that for the trip back.

Dh & I have made this trip together several times, so we’ve seen all the major sights already, some more than once. These are all going to be a 1st for the kids though. I guess what my question for y’all was about any of the quirky, touristy type things we might pass on the way out there. I’m not sure there is anything like that once we get out to west Texas, where we’ll be in the middle of nowhere. And, we don’t want to take too much time veering off the main route. We do want to make sure we have plenty of time for visiting with family and camping once we get to New Mexico.

Hmmm...got some thinking and research to do!