August 17, 2022 - August 24, 2022
Albuquerque
It's already time for our second long-duration trip of the summer! This time around, we are headed to New Mexico and will be travelling to some destinations that we haven't been to since 2008 and others that we haven't been to at all! More importantly, we are slated to hit a major milestone on this trip: Our 300th National Park site! We are certainly well on our way to the current total of 423 sites, but that still seems so far away! Thus, that's the basis for this trip, and pretty much every other moving forward. Our itinerary is geared towards maximizing our time in each of the parks, and we should hit 9 of them on this trip over the course of 1 week, covering around 1,900 miles of driving. Off we go!
Detailed Itinerary
Note All times listed are local to the area in which the activity is scheduled to occur!
DAY 1 - Wednesday, August 17
Departing Flight (1 of 3)
Airline
Southwest
​
Flight Number
WN 597
​
Departure
Baltimore-BWI
​
Arrival
Pittsburgh-PIT
Departure Time
6:20 PM
​
Arrival Time
7:25 PM
Departing Flight (2 of 3)
Airline
Southwest
​
Flight Number
WN 597
​
Departure
Pittsburgh-PIT
​
Arrival
Denver-DEN
Departure Time
8:00 PM
​
Arrival Time
9:15 PM
Departing Flight (3 of 3)
Airline
Southwest
​
Flight Number
WN 597
​
Departure
Denver-DEN
​
Arrival
Albuquerque-ABQ
Departure Time
9:55 PM
​
Arrival Time
11:15 PM
Car Rental
Company
Alamo
Pick-up Time
8/18, 8:00 AM
Vehicle Type
Full Size
Location
Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ)
Activities
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11:30pm: Yes, this is an absolutely terrible flight. We are stuck on the same plane for 7 hours through 3 takeoffs and landings. Unfortunately, Southwest has had to cut back on their schedule, so they only offer Nonstops on Saturdays. Although a Saturday-to-Saturday flight would be great, it means the kids would have to miss their school orientation. So, we'll stick with our Wednesday-to-Wednesday flight and deal with the stopovers.
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12:00am: We're not picking up our rental car until the following day, so we'll take the local hotel shuttle to our evening lodging.
Hotel
Name
Sheraton Albuquerque Airport Hotel
Street
2910 Yale Boulevard
City, State
Albuquerque, NM
Phone
505-843-7000
DAY 2 - Thursday, August 18
Activities
-
8:00am: Pick up rental car.
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9:00am: Explore some of the local sites around Albuquerque, particularly some of the filming locations for a couple of our favorite TV shows, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
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2:00pm: Visit Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument (#296/423).
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6:00pm: If time allows, stop by Smokey Bear Historical State Park (likely closed by this point).
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8:00pm: Dodge the aliens and arrive at our hotel in Roswell, NM.
Hotel
Name
TownePlace Suites Roswell
Street
180 East 19th Street
City, State
Roswell, NM
Phone
DAY 3 - Friday, August 19
Activities
-
10:00am: Visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park (#297/423). We have a scheduled self-guided tour that starts between 10:30am and 11:30am.
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2:00pm: Visit Guadalupe Mountains National Park (#298/423).
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7:00pm: If we are not completely exhausted, we'll go back to Carlsbad for their evening bat program.
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11:00pm: Arrive at hotel.
Hotel
Name
Hotel Paso Del Norte, Autograph Collection
Street
10 Henry Trost Ct.
City, State
El Paso, TX
Phone
915-534-3000
DAY 4 - Saturday, August 20
Activities
-
8:30am: If time allows, stop by Los Portales Museum and Information Center.
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10:00am: Visit Chamizal National Memorial (#299/423).
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11:00am: If time allows, stop by El Paso Museum of History.
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12:30pm: If time allows, stop by New Mexico Farm & Ranch Museum.
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1:00pm: If time allows, stop by Fort Selden Historic Site.
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3:30pm: Visit White Sands National Park (#300/423).
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8:00pm: Arrive at hotel.
Hotel
Name
Fairfield Inn Las Cruces
Street
2101 Summit Court
City, State
Las Cruces, NM
Phone
575-522-6840
DAY 5 - Sunday, August 21
Activities
-
11:00am: Visit Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument (#301/423).
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5:00pm: Visit Fort Craig Historic Site (not a national park site).
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7:00pm: If time allows, take a hike at Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.
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9:00pm: If time allows (at 9pm??), take a hike at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge.
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11:00pm: Arrive at hotel.
Hotel
Name
TownePlace Suites Albuquerque North
Street
5511 Office Boulevard
City, State
Albuquerque, NM
Phone
505-345-3131
DAY 6 - Monday, August 22
Activities
-
8:30am: Visit Bandelier National Monument (#302/423).
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1:00pm: Visit the New Mexico State Capital in Santa Fe.
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3:00pm: Stop by Pecos National Historic Park (WAS #49/423).
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6:00pm: If time allows, take a hike at Maxwell National Wildlife Reserve.
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8:00pm: There are no Marriot hotels in or around northeast New Mexico, so for the first time in (forever?), we're staying at a Best Western hotel!
Hotel
Name
Best Western Plus Raton Hotel
Street
473 Clayton Road
City, State
Raton, NM
Phone
DAY 7 - Tuesday, August 23
Activities
-
9:00am: Visit Capulin Mountain National Monument (#303/423).
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2:00pm: Visit Fort Union National Monument (#304/423).
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7:00pm: Arrive at our hotel, back in Albuquerque, again!
Hotel
Name
TownePlace Suites Albuquerque Old Town
Street
2510 12th Street NW
City, State
Albuquerque, NM
Phone
505-314-8201
DAY 8 - Wednesday, August 24
Activities
-
9:00am: Check out a local attraction; perhaps we'll finally be able to ride the Sandia Peak Tramway!
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12:30pm: As of this writing, our flight technically returns on Tuesday, but since Southwest changed their itinerary, we should have the ability to make no-charge change. We just haven't settled on a flight, yet. Assuming seats are available, we'll return the car around this time and take the flights shown below.
Returning Flight (1 of 2)
Airline
Southwest
​
Flight Number
WN 294
​
Departure
Albuquerque-ABQ
​
Arrival
Houston-HOU
Departure Time
4:05 PM
​
Arrival Time
7:10 PM
Returning Flight (2 of 2)
Airline
Southwest
​
Flight Number
WN 123
​
Departure
Houston-HOU
​
Arrival
Baltimore-BWI
Departure Time
8:20 PM
​
Arrival Time
12:20 AM