High Rollers

One of our favorite parts of New Mexico is the Sacramento Mountains and the Tularosa Basin. The town of Ruidoso is where a lot of people go, but we prefer the slower pace of the lesser known hamlets, such as Cloudcroft, High Rolls, and Tularosa. When my sister and her family lived in Alamogordo (or, AlamoGee as we like to call it), we grew to love the area and now return as frequently as we can.

The weekend of May 11 Brendan and I drove down to High Rolls to stay at our favorite bed and breakfast, run by our friends Guillian and Melise. We were celebrating two events - Brendan's 28th birthday and the successful completion of his first semester of graduate school (straight As so far!). We visited all our best spots - Casa de Suenos restaurant in Tularosa, Caliche's frozen custard in AlamoGee, the village of Cloudcroft - and also went on two hikes we hadn't tried before. The first one, in High Rolls, was a delightful, scenic and easy hike on an old railroad bed. The second one, in White Sands National Monument, was incredible in a completely different way - bright, hot, and surreal. We also made some new friends at the B&B, and our into-the-night conversation with our hosts and the other guests was a highlight of the trip.

Here are some pics.

Brendan on the Grand View Trail. Note the fabulous new backpack and convertible hiking pants (birthday presents from Mom and Dad Bonham).

A cool fossil we saw on the Grand View Trail

Part of the 'grand view'

White Sands Trail

Amazing!