We drove our coach 125 miles, about three hours of driving, from Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico to Carlsbad, New Mexico.
The map route, heading east then south:
An interactive version from my trip planning, with potential stops marked; we only stopped at the first one, “Atlas Missile Silos Official Scenic Historic Marker":
The first part of the drive along US-70 was quite pretty:
Fox Cave:
Buildings:
There are several places named Picacho, though I always think of Pikachu from Pokémon:
Nice hills and trees:
US-70 becomes fairly flat and barren:
We stopped for lunch at a “roadside table” area; like a rest stop, but no bathroom facilities (which is fine for us):
Between the two tables and their fascinating shelters is a sign for the Atlas Missile Silos Official Scenic Historic Marker:
On the opposite side, a motorhome with an interesting trailer configuration, carrying a side-by-side and towing a car like a dolly:
We killed half an hour while having lunch, to avoid arriving before check-in time. When we got underway again, Paladin remained on the back of the couch, looking out the window:
Apparently towing vehicles like this is quite common in New Mexico:
After Roswell, the highway is super flat and boring, so I didn’t bother taking many pictures:
An oil refinery in Artesia:
Oil pump jacks:
A nice entrance to our destination, Carlsbad KOA Holiday:
The office:
Heading to our site:
