Back in March, we loaded up the kids and started on the first of our ‘Great American Road Trips’ we hope to take as a family while our kids are young. We planned out a route that would take us through New Mexico and Arizona to see some of the Southwest’s best sights. Of course, there wasn’t time to see everything, but we were able to see so many beautiful and interesting things. Plus, we just got to learn a lot about the terrain of New Mexico and Arizona. They are incredibly beautiful states with a lot of variety in them.
After we got out of Texas (of course, it takes a while to get out of our great state), our first stop was Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. It was a beautiful day, and the caves were magnificent. We didn’t even trek the entire thing, one of the perks of having young kids. But, we definitely enjoyed the things we did see. And hats off to the wonderful park rangers that work in our national parks.
After the caverns, we headed to White Sands National Monument. I can honestly say, this is one of the most amazing, magical places I’ve ever been. And it’s hiding right here in the United States. I recommend EVERYBODY visit White Sands. You can even take sleds and slide down the sand dunes. The sunset was truly magical.
The next day we ventured into Southern Arizona. We hit several small towns. There was Lowell and Bisbee. Bisbee is a fun, artsy town. I really enjoyed our short time there, and I could see myself spending an entire weekend there. We ate some fantastic vegan food and spent some time just checking out some of the local art in the area. We also stopped by the famous Tombstone, AZ. I’ll be honest and say it wasn’t my favorite spot, but it’s still fun to say you’ve been there.
Our next adventure was at Saguaro National Park, named for the famous cacti that grow there. If you have never read up on a Saguaro Cactus, you should! They are fascinating plants to learn about. There were a lot of other type of cacti there as well.
Next we headed to the pinnacle of our trip – the Grand Canyon. We got to witness an amazing sunset there, and we even stayed overnight in the park. I’ll have even more photos from our trip up on the blog soon.
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a great weekend.