Our Route Across the Country – Part 11

We are 10 months into our year long road trip and along with celebrating 10 months of adventure, we also celebrated the 1,000th Destination Tree order! But where have we been and what have we been doing? Well, on Part 11 of our cross country route we waved goodbye to Texas and traveled to and through New Mexico. Our route summary and map are below!

If you’ve missed any earlier segments catch up with links to our routes and travel highlights here:

• Part 1 looped us from Ohio to Maine and back to Ohio.
• Part 2 carried us across the country from Ohio to Montana and to our adventures in and around Glacier National Park.
• Part 3 circled the Olympic Peninsula in and around Olympic National Park.
• Part 4 took us to Crater Lake National Park in Oregon and Redwood National and State Parks in California
  • We also included our extended stay on the Oregon Coast over the holidays in Part 4, as we filled holiday orders for Destination Tree
• Part 5 traversed us through California including Napa Valley, Yosemite, King’s Canyon and Sequoia National Parks
• Part 6 brought us through the Southwest as we explored Joshua Tree National Park, Sedona, The Apache Trail outside of Phoenix, Tombstone and Bisbee.
• Part 7 introduced us to the enormous size and beauty of Texas…from Big Bend National Park to San Antonio, Austin and the Gulf Coast.
• Part 8 swung us through Sweet Home Aaaalabaaaama…
• Part 9 reconnected us with family and friends in Florida including Fort Lauderdale, Everglades National Park, Sanibel Island and St. Augustine.
• Part 10 backtracked us through the south with stops at Louisiana’s old plantations, New Orleans, and MORE fun in San Antonio with good friends.

Next up…New Mexico! (Not really New, and not really Mexico…)

Part XI
May 4 – May 31, 2016

On long driving days, we love to get up REALLY early, like, before the sun early, and begin our journey. And so, this was exactly what we did when we left Hondo, TX (just outside of San Antonio), with our sights set on New Mexico. We drove through Texas Hill Country beneath starry skies until the sun peeked up over the horizon to light our way. Once we arrived in New Mexico, we based ourselves near Artesia, NM and made day trips to Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands National Monument and Roswell, NM (for Matt’s alien curiosity, of course). From there, we continued north and settled just outside of Santa Fe for several weeks. From Santa Fe we balanced busy work days creating custom Destination Tree orders with day trips to Chaco Canyon, Bandelier National Monument, Santa Fe National Forest, Pecos National Historic Park, The Jemez Mountain Trail, Taos and of course downtown Santa Fe.

Our driving route through New Mexico is below…and check out all the pictures and highlights of these amazing New Mexico destinations here!

Tips: Zoom in and out on the map, and move the map around to get a better look at the route. Or click “View Larger Map” below to get an even better view.