4 RV Road Trips for Military Families in the Southwest
by Meredith Flory - December 6th, 2021
The Southwest is known for being a premier destination for RV living. With mild winters, open, flat roads, and clear night skies, a PCS to the Southwest might find you ready to make an RV purchase to ease PCS travel, enjoy long weekends, or even live in one full-time.
While stationed at Ft. Bliss, a perfect gateway to exploring the Southwest, our family decided to purchase a smaller travel trailer to try our hand at RV Life. Enjoying road trips, we are getting our feet wet to prepare to use the RV on our next PCS, and to decide if we might upgrade to a larger RV to live in at a later duty station.
If you are stationed at Ft. Bliss, Ft. Huachuca, Davis-Monothan AFB, Holloman AFB, here are four road trips that begin within a day drive to explore all the beauty of this area of the world.
(While these are crafted for RV trips, several of these trips we did in a car prior to our RV purchase and can be altered for tent camping, Air BnB, or hotel stays as well.)
Looking For Aliens in Roswell
Most famous for being the alleged site of the 1947 UFO crash, Roswell has leaned into its weirdness with a downtown full of alien art, the International UFO Museum and Research Center, and a McDonald's in the shape of a UFO with a space-themed playground.
There’s more to eastern NM than possible alien sightings. Coming from the West, stop at Guadalupe National Park, which is home to the highest peak in Texas. From there, it’s a short drive to your first overnight stop in Carlsbad. Visit the Carlsbad Caverns, picking up your America the Beautiful military pass to visit National Parks for free, and if in season, stay for the nightly bat show. While there’s no RV parking inside the park, the nearby town of Carlsbad has plenty of options.
From there, it’s a short drive to stay several days in Roswell at Bottomless Lakes State Park. Here, you can find full hookups and enjoy the park’s unique sinkholes by swimming, hiking, or kayaking in beautiful blue-green water, ranging from 17-90 feet .
For the return trip, take a more northern route through the Lincoln National Forest, stopping at the Smoky the Bear Museum and the Lincoln Historic Site which includes a museum and walking tour through the town, telling the town’s violent wild west history.
Playlist: Get nostalgic with the 1999 soundtrack to the Roswell TV series, complete with Dido’s theme song “Here With Me.” Then learn about the most famous alien stories and what might have really happened with the well-crafted podcast Strange Arrivals.
Art History in Albuquerque and Santa Fe
The New Mexico cities of Albuquerque and Santa Fe are only an hour apart, each with its own character and a long list of tourist attractions. Albuquerque is the “hot air balloon capital of the world” according to their tourism website, with the Balloon Fiesta in the fall, and the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Hot Air Balloon Museum. Other museums include the ABQ BioPark, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, and Explora. Make sure to eat at the Frontier Restaurant to experience this local favorite with giant sweet rolls and homemade tortillas.
Take the scenic Turquoise Trail to head up to Santa Fe, and stop at Madrid, a former mining town turned into a creative arts community with delicious restaurants and eclectic shopping. In Santa Fe, spend a morning at the Santa Fe Plaza, starting with a breakfast burrito at Tia Sophia’s (order it “Christmas” to try the red and green chili sauces). Wander around the plaza and wonder at the beauty of the historic missions.
An absolute don’t miss is Meow Wolf Santa Fe, an interactive, explorable art exhibit with over 70 rooms by different artists that tells a mysterious sci-fi story. If you prefer the great outdoors, the region is home to a variety of parks and outdoor adventures including Sandia Peak, Cibola National Forest, and Bandelier National Monument.
Playlist: With the windows down, lean into the historic drives and Americana with classic rock like The Eagles, Rolling Stones, James Taylor, and Chuck Berry.
Mountain Air in Cloudcroft and Ruidoso
Close enough for a day trip, but different enough to turn into a longer stay, the resort towns of Cloudcroft and Ruidoso are about two hours north of Ft. Bliss. In the winter, the elevation difference makes this section of the Lincoln National Forest colder, with pine forests out of a holiday movie and the possibility for snow. Enjoy skiing or snow tubing in season, and beautiful hikes, like the ones in the Trestle Recreation Area on the west end of Cloudcroft.
Some of the RV parks are not open in the winter due to the weather, so enjoy the woods in early fall/late spring, or stay down the mountain in nearby towns like Carrizozo, Alamagordo, or the FamCamp at Holloman AFB as a warmer base for day trips into the mountains. Visit the Valley of Fires Recreation Area to see the Chihuahua Desert growing throughout the Malpais Lava Flow in Carrizozo.
In the mountains, drive through High Rolls and visit the Old Apple Barn and Wild Game Bistro for cherry cider, a selection of delicious wild game burgers and sausages, yummy fudge, and mountain décor shopping. Continue on to midtown Ruidoso for a selection of art, shopping, and food with varying seasonal entertainment and festivals in a quaint resort town setting.
Playlist: Download episodes of This American Life as you drive through varying scenery and towns. Then as you drive through the pines, relax to folk, soft rock, or bluegrass artists like Nickel Creek, Gillian Welch, or James Taylor.
The Wild West of Arizona
If you love a western movie with cowboys and big skies, road trip to Tombstone, AZ. It's close enough to Ft. Huachuca for a day trip for families stationed there. Military in other parts of the Southwest can use the Apache Flats RV resort.
Tombstone and Bisbee both offer museums, tours, and attractions for the whole family. Tour the Queen Mine in Bisbee and then step back in time on Eerie Street, where classic cars, vintage signs, and old buildings are preserved in a sort of time capsule of mid-20th century. In Tombstone, visit the O.K. Coral, take a stagecoach tour, and watch a gunfight or pan for gold at the Old Tombstone Western theme park. For those who like the spooky side of history, both towns offer a variety of ghost tours.
Filled with history, this area of AZ is also home to a unique habitat - the Sky Islands. The Sky Islands are a collection of isolated mountain ranges that are home to an incredible diversity of flora and fauna. Find all levels of hiking opportunities at a collection of parks and wildlife refuges in the area, including San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge, Coronado National Park, Ramsey Canyon Preserve, and Patagonia Lake State Park.
Continue your road trip on to Tucson where a variety of museums and attractions offer a fun introduction into the culture of the state. See giant cacti at Saguaro National Park, enjoy playgrounds and aviaries at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, or learn about the research of the University of Arizona while walking through a variety of habitats at Biosphere 2.
Playlist: Celebrate American composer Aaron Copeland with a listen to his ballet Rodeo or queue up the soundtrack to great Westerns like The Magnificent Seven. Then listen to the Haunted Road podcast episode “You’ll Find Your Tombstone” to learn about the ghost of the area.
However you choose to explore the Southwest, this is a beautiful part of the country that is worth a visit! Whether you are stationed here for a few years, or just passing through during a PCS, then add these road trips to your bucket list.
Meredith Flory is a military spouse, homeschool mom, and freelance writer currently living in Texas. She has a master’s degree in children’s literature and her writing has appeared in publications such as Military Families, The Mary Sue, and Augusta Family Magazine. You can follow her on Twitter @Meredith Flory Instagram @merediththemom or check out her website www.meredithflory.com for more info.
