When someone thinks about traveling, the first thing that usually comes to mind, is a backpacking trip through Europe, a visit to Paris, or even a trip to a secluded tropical island. I would enjoy traveling the world as much as anyone, but I also know I don’t have to get my passport stamped to see some amazing things.
We have all heard about exploring our own backyard, and to be honest New Mexico is an amazing backyard to explore. In New Mexico, we have something for everybody: dinosaurs, ancient man sites, Native American sites, Old west ghost towns, nuclear history, aliens, and a spaceport. Before we go look at someone else’s yard, why not spend some time looking at our own, besides, it’s cheaper than leaving the state.
New Mexico Dinosaurs
Fossils of more than 13 different kinds of dinosaurs have been found in New Mexico. These range from the smallest of creatures to the dinosaur they call Seismosaurus, which is the largest dinosaur ever found. Some of the others include the well known Tyrannosaurs and Triceratops to the not so well know state dinosaur, Coelophysis, yes we do indeed have a state dinosaur.
Clayton Lake is a world famous dinosaur track site. This was an early freeway of sorts, with more than 500 perfectly preserved dinosaur footprints. You can take a step back in time and follow along with the huge migration that must have occurred.
Mesa Lands Museum 
This museum is located in Tucumcari and you’ll find over 11,000 square feet of dinosaur fossils. This small yet informative museum was the first in the world to display Torvosaurus, a cousin to the famous T-Rex.
Ghost Ranch located very near Abiquiu State Park is a working dinosaur archeological dig. You can visit the museum and watch as dirt and sediment is examined and the past occupants of this world are brought back to life.
Ancient Clovis Man 
Clovis Man, estimated to have lived 13000 years ago is believed to be the oldest people in the Americas, and traces of them were first found right here in New Mexico. You can visit the Blackwater museum and see artifacts and tools used to hunt Mammoth and Mastodon. You can even visit Blackwater Locality No. 1 the original dig site where these artifacts were unearthed.
Folsom Culture Site – Located in Folsom New Mexico, these people lived 9000-10000 years ago, and were slightly more advanced than the Clovis culture. These were hunters of now extinct Bison. You can visit both the Folsom Museum and Wild Horse Arroyo the original dig site.
Native American Sites
Aztec Ruins, Aztec, NM
Aztec Ruins in Aztec New Mexico. This 1.5 Mile stretch built in the early 11th century shows how the people of that time lived. Stone and adobe huts show not only a great engineering feat of the time, but expert masonry skills as well. It is said you can still see the fingerprints of the builders in the original mortar they used to hold the walls together.
Gila Cliff Dwellings just outside of Silver City. The Mogollon people between 1275 and 1300 AD inhabited these cliffs. The 5 caves and 46 rooms are believed to have provided shelter for 10-15 families. This site shows just how well these ancient people used mother earth not only to provide sustenance but also to provide shelter.
There are over 10 other ancient sites in New Mexico, these just happen to be two of my favorites.
The Old West
The badlands of New Mexico have been written, talked and sung about for as long as we have been around. Billy the Kid, Pat Garret, Doc Holliday, The Wild Bunch, Kit Carson and so many more have at one time or another called New Mexico home.
Lincoln County Court House 1930
Lincoln New Mexico is a place frozen in time. Most of the buildings that Billy the Kid walked past in his day you can walk past now. The courthouse that Billy the kid made his final escape from is still standing, in fact you can go inside and see the area where the cell would have been, the stairway where he shot one of his guards still has the bullet hole to prove it.
St. James Hotel Cimarron, NM
Cimarron New Mexico is home to the St. James Hotel where you can not only ghost hunt but also spend the night in the same room Jesse James has occupied.
Las Vegas New Mexico
Many gunfighters have made there way through this city Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Bill Cody and many more. Doc Holliday also called it home for several years.
In my opinion, New Mexico should be more famous than Tombstone, AZ. This was a hard place, with hard people, and it is all right here for all of us to see!
Modern Nuclear Age
White Sands National Monument
On the first Saturday in April and October the Trinity site in white sands is open to the public. This is where the Atomic age got started. On July 16, 1945 the first ever atomic bomb was tested. You will see the McDonald ranch house where the world’s first plutonium core was assembled, A Fat Man bomb casing and Trinite, the green glass made by extreme heat and pressure.
Bradbury Science Museum in Los Alamos New Mexico will answer any questions you have regarding the Atomic era, mainly because this era was born right here in New Mexico.
Aliens
International UFO Museum Roswell, New Mexico
How can we not talk about Roswell or the Very Large Array without aliens? Roswell is a well-known city around the world because in 1947 it is said that an alien spacecraft crashed into the desert near there. You can now visit the alien museum and even take a tour of the supposed crash site.
Very Large Array, Socorro, NM
"Is anybody out there?"
The Very Large Array 50 miles west of Socorro really has nothing to do with aliens, but the movies Contact and Independence Day have solidified people’s perception on the purpose of this facility. That being said there are tours of the facility and you can even listen to the signals that those giant antennas are receiving.
There you have it, a brief tour of what we can find in our own backyard right here in New Mexico. There is a lot I didn’t cover, such as the miles of natural caves and 14,000-foot peaks. I hope that this inspires at least a few of you to head out and see everything our state has to offer. Many of these places are near or provide there own camping facilities which makes taking that RV vacation much more convenient.
Travis Roberts, Rocky Mountain RV & Marine