A road trip isn’t about the destination. It’s about the journey. That’s what makes road trips special. There’s no need for a perfectly timed itinerary. You just need a general idea of where you’re going and an open mind.

When we set out to select a road trip destination, we want a nice balance of beautiful landscapes and quirky adventures. New Mexico easily fit the bill. There are lots of great spots to hit in New Mexico, but this was the route we enjoyed in a 9 day span. If you work a typical Monday through Friday, then 9 days gives you enough time to enjoy the area and only miss 5 days of work if you plan to leave on a Saturday and return on a Sunday.

Day One: Off to Roswell, New Mexico

As an X-Files fan, I had to include Roswell on the itinerary. Since we’re in north Louisiana, we opted to drive in to New Mexico rather than book a flight and rent a car. If you’re planning to fly in to begin your road trip, you’ll do better to start in Albuquerque. Albuquerque is a little over a 3 hour drive from Roswell.

It took us about 9.5 hours of driving to get to Roswell. We actually worked a bit that morning before leaving, so we arrived in Roswell late that evening. There were a handful of chain hotels very close to the main areas of interest, so choosing a place to stay was easy. Most of the hotels are found along US Hwy 285. US Hwy 285 also happens to turn into Main Street in Roswell.

Day Two: Roswell, New Mexico, and White Sands National Monument

The next morning, we set out to find aliens. Our first stop was McDonald’s for breakfast. This wasn’t your typical McDonald’s, though. It’s a UFO McDonald’s! It’s definitely worth a photo stop, and it helps that it’s easily located right on US Hwy 285.

Next up, we headed to the Alien Zone Area 51 which is a small gift shop with fun photo opportunities. Be sure to take note of the alien streetlights along Main Street, too! We wanted to go to the International UFO Museum & Research Center, but there was a local parade that day limiting our access. With our alien adventures completed, we loaded back up in the car and headed to White Sands National Monument.

After about 2.5 hours in the car, we checked in to our KOA cabin in Alamogordo. From there, we drove out to the White Sands National Monument to explore, play, and enjoy a sunset view to end our day.

It’s pretty spectacular seeing the landscape change when driving into the White Sands National Monument. When you arrive, stop off at the Visitor’s Center to find out more information of different activities available in the park that day. Some of the available available activities include hiking, sledding, and ranger programs. There are roads throughout the park with designated parking areas. When you get out of your car and begin to walk the sand dunes, be very aware of where your car is located. It’s easy to get lost here!

Day Three: Very Large Array, Pie Town, and Taos

We could have easily spent another day at White Sands National Monument, but we had lots of other places we wanted to fit in. And we were incredibly excited to visit the Very Large Array!

The Very Large Array is a radio telescope facility in the middle of nowhere New Mexico. You might recognize it from the movie Contact starring Jodi Foster. If you have any interest in science, then this is a must on your itinerary.

The VLA can feel a little challenging to get to since it’s truly in the middle of nowhere. Thankfully, with GPS, you can be assured you’ll get there. The VLA’s website gives the GPS coordinates of GPS: 34 04’43.497N 107 37’05.819W. Be prepared when heading to the VLA because there is very little cell signal getting close, and no cell signal once you’re there. (You actually have to turn your cell phones off while at the facility as they don’t want to disturb the work being done at the facility.)

When you arrive, your first stop will be the visitor’s center where you’ll pay a nominal admission fee. The visitor’s center also has a short movie about the telescopes and the facility. We highly recommend watching it before setting out to explore the grounds.

We had arrived early to the VLA, and we really wanted some nighttime photos of the telescopes. So we added on an extra stop to kill a bit more time before sunset.

Pie Town is an easy 42 minute drive from the VLA. The town’s name alone suggests this place warrants a visit. There were three cafes on the main road that sell pie, but only two of the three were open on the day we visited. I’m not a huge fan of baked fruit, but Kevin was in pie heaven!

After a late lunch and a slice (or two or three…) of pie, we headed back to the VLA. With the site closed to visitors at sunset, that meant we couldn’t be on property for nighttime photos. Thankfully, there is a pullout on the side of the road where you can park for photos.

After our nighttime photos, we began the 4.5 hour drive to El Prado which is just outside of Taos. We stayed at the Hotel Luna Mystica in a 1953 Vagabond named Judd.

Day Four: El Prado & Taos

El Prado is where you can find the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. There’s a welcome center where you can park and walk out to get a great photo of the whole bridge. You can also photograph the Rio Grande Gorge from the bridge itself. There’s a parking area just past the bridge.

We also spent a little time that afternoon browsing Taos. Taos is an adorable town with historic adobe buildings. There are several restaurants, shops, and art galleries to fill your time here. A storm rolled through on our last night which made for a very relaxing evening in Judd.

Day Five: Abiquiu

We checked out of Judd and headed out to Abiquiu. The drive time today was only an hour and fifteen minutes, so we made it to Abiquiu quite early. We ended up driving past Abiquiu all the way to the Colorado border just to enjoy the scenery. On our way back, we stopped in at Ghost Ranch. If you’re a fan of Georgie O’Keeffe or just a fan in beautiful landscapes in general, Ghost Ranch is great spot to stop. Ghost Ranch even has a small dinosaur museum!

After visiting the Ghost Ranch, we checked into our yurt for the next two nights.

Day Six: Abiquiu

We planned this day as a day of rest. We did end up going for a drive among the beautiful landscapes, but we mostly settled into our yurt for me to read and Kevin to play his guitar.

Day Seven: Albuquerque

From Abiquiu to Albuquerque, it was just under a 2 hour drive. When we initially planned our road trip, we didn’t realize that Albuquerque would be hosting it’s annual International Balloon Fiesta. Once we realized that our road trip would coincide with the Balloon Fiesta, we arranged it to where we arrived in Albuquerque in time to enjoy it.

The one downside is that everyone else had planned their trip for the Balloon Fiesta well in advance. That meant most of the accommodations were already booked. We were lucky to score a room at the Econo Lodge Old Town. This location was within walking distance to Old Town Albuquerque and was only a short drive to the Balloon Fiesta.

After checking in, we did a self-drive tour of a few of the Breaking Bad filming spots. The car wash was very open to the tourists stopping by. They even encouraged us to go inside for a peek. We drove by the house as well, but there were people sitting outside the garage. Since we didn’t want them to feel as if we were invading their privacy, we simply drove by without stopping for a photograph.

We ended our evening with the Balloon Glow at the Balloon Fiesta. We arrived a few hours before the Balloon Glow to beat traffic. For tips on visiting the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, head over here.

Day Eight: Albuquerque

Today was all about attending the Balloon Fiesta’s Mass Ascension, but we still had time to fit in a tour of Old Town. Old Town is also where you can find The Candy Lady, the creator of the candy prop used as the blue meth in Breaking Bad. Stop in and get your own Breaking Bad candy!

Day Nine: Route 66 to Amarillo and then home!

Since we had to drive from Albuquerque back to north Louisiana, we figured we might as well drive the historic Route 66 where we could! It was difficult to stay on Route 66 since I-40 has replaced so much of it. The best part was finding the Singing Road on Route 66. If you roll your windows down and slow your speed to 45 mph while driving over the rumble strips, you’ll hear “America the Beautiful!”

If you have an extra day to stretch this itinerary to 10 days, then we’d suggest stopping in Santa Fe as well! We would have loved to fit in a visit to Meow Wolf in Santa Fe. While there never seems to be enough time to do everything, we always have to remember that next time is always a possibility!