Southwest Roadtrip: New Mexico

 I just returned from 6 days on the road through the desert, and although that may not seem like a lot of time, we managed to pack quite a bit in! So here is a summery of our trip through New Mexico and some of our recommendations!

Centerpiece of the Museum

Our first big stop was Roswell. It's crazy to see a town take its entire identity from an even that happened in 1947. (The only other place we could think that is sort of like this is Salem, MA) The UFO Museum provides info about the event and general history of UFO sightings across the world. It provides a good background, as long as you're willing to skim. You could easily spend an entire day there, but I wouldn't, there's so much else to see!

So much info!!

Around the museum there are heaps of tshirt shop and stuff. Most are all selling the same stuff, and then there's the Alien Zone. This place fully embraces the corniness of the alien sightings. The front of the shop is a store and for 3 bucks you can go in a seperate place full of alien scenes that you can take pictures with: experimenting on aliens in the lab, drunk alien BBQ, alien on the toilet, etc. It's definitely a must see after the museum!

Secret gem: The Human Society Thrift Shop. In town here are heaps of curated vintage stores, but there is something so much more satisfying about digging through racks of duds to finally find something awesome! I came away with a garbage bag full of clothes for under 4$.


What to eat:
Honestly I didn't' have high expectations for food in Roswell, but I was delightfully surprised! Both of our meals here were great! First we went to Big D's Downtown Dive for lunch. The food was super yummy and fresh an imaginative. Reportedly it was on Diner Drive ins and Dives, but I couldn't find any evidence of that, either way, deliscious!
For dinner we went to Lemon Grass Thai. Yes, we all thought it was a bit insane to try Thai food in NM, but again we were pleasantly surprised. It was on par with my favorite Thai place here in San Diego. Crazy find and so worth it!

 The next morning we were off! Back to Arizona with stops along the way. Basically our idea was, we're gonna have to make backroom stops, why not make them fun!
Stop 1: The Fox Cave. An Old mine now converted into a giant gift store/ roadside attractions. The store is built into the cliff-side, which is pretty awesome, and they have gems from all over the world, along with local turquoise jewelry. One of the best parts are the giant sculptures outside: a pair of 20 foot tall hands, dinos, aliens, cowboys. Bonus points for having a super nice backroom.

Chillin in the cyrstals

Stop 2: Pistachioland. We saw this giant pistachio on the  side of the road and knew we had to stop on the way back! bonus points for having a sample bar where you can try all of their pistachios.

Stop 3. What Sands National Monument. This place is positively unreal. Southern New Mexico is basically a craggey open landscape, and then all of a sudden you come upon these stark white sand dunes, the feeling is surreal.I could have spent all day here climbing the dunes and letting the sand run through my fingers. Any description beyond this would only cheapen the awesomeness of this place. I can just say: if you have the chance, Go.
* credit to by boyfriend Gabe who first told me about this place*

Details on Designers at bottom of page

Sampson the Camel: therapy animal during the week, hilarious sight on the weekend

Stop 4: Adobe Deli. All of the credit for this goes to Diana. We were all hungry making the long drive from White Sands to Tucson and she put in the effort to find a unique place for us. After a drive in the middle of nowhere we arrived at a giant building at the end of the lane, and the parking lot was packed. This place is literally covered in decor, and most of that decor is stuff that vintage pickers would die to get their hands on: taxidery, road signs, hats, old hunting stuff. The menus are sassy and suddenly everyone has southern accents. I loved this place. As a capstone to our day of oddities it just emphasized how many awesome things there are as long as you put in the extra effort to look around you.

This is how they bring you your ribs...

And with our bellies full it was off to Arizona!
I'll post highlights of our trip soon, along with a video of our travels.

If you want to check out more shots from our trip, check out my instagram: @beckapalter

 Body Suit: Little Black Diamond
Sunglasses: Knockaround