December 2022
In December of 2022 I took a road trip to New Mexico. I had been wanting to do some birding there as well as experience the culture, and decided to plan a road trip. I stayed in three cities in New Mexico (Albuquerque, Santa Fe with a day trip to the Taos Pueblo, and Carlsbad) and two in Texas (San Angelo on the way there and Denton on the way back).
San Angelo
I stopped one night on the way to New Mexico in San Angelo, at the Chicken Farm Art Center. It’s a really cool “mixed-use development” (to quote directly from their website: https://www.chickenfarmartcenter.com) where artists and makers can rent space to make and/or sell their products. They also maintain a bed-and-breakfast with several single rooms or suites (I booked through Airbnb but they also have a website: https://www.innattheartcenter.com), and they have a restaurant that serves amazing food. And did I mention it was once a chicken farm? The Art Center started in the 70s when a former high school art teacher and a couple of partners bought the vacant former chicken farm and gradually turned it into a series of studios and apartments where artists could rent space to live and work.
The Inn at the Art Center
This was probably one of the most unique and memorable stays I’ve ever had. My Southwest-themed room was beautiful inside and out, as was the rest of the center, which is chock-full of art, even without taking the artist studios into account. There is also an amazing restaurant, which I decided to check out on a whim, and I arrived just as the only other couple there was finishing their meal. I ended up being the only person in the restaurant which allowed me time to chat with the chef. He was testing out new dishes that weren’t on the menu yet, and so I even got to have a totally unique dining experience to go with my unique stay.
Albuquerque, Bosque del Apache, and Petroglyphs
The first stop in New Mexico was Albuquerque. I stayed in an Airbnb – just a room in someone’s house, which is significantly cheaper than renting a whole place to yourself. I spent time exploring the historic part of the town of Albuquerque, which was all decked out for Christmas, and I spent pretty much the whole of another day at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge doing some birding. The highlight of birding at Bosque del Apache was the huge flocks of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese that are winter residents of the refuge.
I also visited Petroglyph National Monument, which is right outside Albuquerque. This site preserves thousands of petroglyphs (images carved into rock) carved by indigenous peoples over time (along with probably some carved by visitors before the site became protected).
Santa Fe and Taos
The next stop on my New Mexico trip was Santa Fe. I once again reserved through Airbnb, this time at a hostel. This was also one of my more unique stays, as I had a private room with access to the communal kitchen, which was fully stocked with food that was up for grabs by whoever wanted it. You could use whatever was in the refrigerators and on the shelves aside from the staff-designated refrigerator or anything labeled with someone’s name. I stayed there for three days and didn’t have to pay for a single meal, though I did end up getting coffee in the mornings because the kitchen wasn’t open quite early enough.
One morning I headed to the Randall Davey Audubon Center to do some birding. I saw several new species there, and did some hiking as well. I also visited the Taos Pueblo. Pictures are pending because they have restrictions on visitors taking photographs and I want to make sure I follow their rules. I have emailed them to find out if I’m allowed to simply post and share the photos without the goal of making a profit off them, and I’m waiting for an answer.
White Sands National Park and Carlsbad Caverns
On the way from Santa Fe to Carlsbad, I stopped at White Sands National Park. This park consists of sand dunes made of gypsum and is in fact the world’s largest gypsum dune field. Originally designated a National Monument in 1933, it was re-designated as a National Park just in 2019.
