Texas and New Mexico

I hated planning this trip. I wanted to find a way to hit two states but don't feel I did it any justice because of the size of Texas. I tried to make a reasonable itinerary to hit as much as possible in New Mexico and Western Texas. We will fly into Albuquerque and fly out of Austin. I managed to keep this vacation to 10 days, 1 day over my target of 9 days, knowing we will likely plan another trip or two to Texas in the future to see the rest of the state.

With all of that said, I fully expect this trip to be amazing. I researched as much as I could to try to make sure we hit all of the highlights of the destinations we will visit.

Day 1: Land in San Antonio

• The Riverwalk

• The Alamo

• Mission Trail

• Historic Pearl District

Day 2: Drive to Big Bend

Day 3: Visit Big Bend

• Ten Bits Ranch

• Rio Grande Village

• Chisos Mountains

• Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive

• Sam Nail Ranch

• Castolon Historic District

• Old Maverick Road (1 hour)

• Main Park Road

• Path Junction Road

• Terlingua Ghost Town

Day 4: Visit Big Bend, Drive to Fort Stockton

• Fort Stockton

  • Giant Roadrunner

  • Historic Old Pecos County Jail

  • Annie Riggs Memorial Museum

Day 5: Drive to Carlsbad

• Guatalupe Mountain

Day 6: Visit Carlsbad, Drive to Roswell, then White Sands

• The Big Room Cave

• UFO Museum

Day 7: Visit White Sands, Drive to Santa Fe

• Interdune Boardwalk Trail

• Dune Sledding

Day 8: Visit Santa Fe

• The Plaza

• Railyard District

• Canyon Road

• Pecos National Monument

• Taos

Day 9: Drive to Albuquerque, Visit Balloon Festival

Day 10: Fly Home