The Ultimate Summer Adventure Guide
MY FAMILY ROAD-TRIPPED throughout New Mexico in the summers when I was growing up, tent-camping out of a Ford Econoline van. Opportunities for outdoor fun seemed to await us around every corner: We’d…
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Tag: National Parks
Experience Big Room Magic
CARLSBAD CAVERNS IS UNIQUE for the rock that it occupies and how it formed. Most caves form from the top down, but sulfuric acid helped create these from the bottom up. A few factors had to combine to…
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Editor's Letter: Dig Deep
WE HAD BARELY TURNED ONTO THE ENTRANCE road to Carlsbad Caverns National Park when my wife pointed to our left. “Look,” she said. “Stop the car.” Barbary sheep were everywhere, grazing along the…
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Explore Lechuguilla Cave
A CAVERS’ MAP IS DOTTED WITH QUESTION MARKS, indicating where other cavers have spotted a crack or crevasse that offers a possible unexplored passage. Some become impassably small. Some dead-end in…
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Dive Into the Depths of Carlsbad Caverns
THE DARKNESS IS SO COMPLETE that I can close my eyes, open them again, and see no difference. For seemingly long moments that might have been a few seconds, our group of 25 falls silent. Only the…
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Journey into the Santa Fe Trail's Past—and Future
WHEN WILLIAM BECKNELL'S MULE train creaked, snorted, and jounced into Santa Fe on November 14, 1821, a metaphoric earthquake shook New Mexico’s dusty soil. For more than two centuries, the Spanish…
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Five Things to Do This Weekend
Try hiking or sledding the dunes at White Sands National Park. Photograph by NMTD. Have a park day. National Park Week kicks off on Saturday with Park Rx Day when you can take advantage of free…
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Explore Carlsbad Caverns from Above and Below
Marvel at the otherworldly landscape in Carlsbad Caverns’ Lower Cave. Photograph by Alamy/Chris Howes/Wild Places Photography. PUT THIS ON YOUR 2021 NEW YEAR'S resolution list: Visit Carlsbad Caverns…
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How the Dunes at White Sands Shift Over Time
The dunes at White Sands come in four primary types: dome, barchan, transverse, and parabolic. Illustration by Jameson Simpson. WIND CARVES THE CHARACTER OF the dunes at White Sands, generally driving…
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Prehistoric Footprints At White Sands Tell Rich Stories
Researchers have found footprints left by Ice Age animals and prehistoric humans. Illustration by Jameson Simpson. ON THE FAR WESTERN FRINGE of the park, the dunes taper out to the edge of Lake…
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