New Mexico: Things to Do and See

1. Aztec Ruins: Explore a 900-year old ancestral Pueblo Great House of over 400 masonry rooms. Look up and see original timbers holding up the roof. Search for the fingerprints of ancient workers in the mortar. Listen for an echo of ritual drums in the reconstructed Great Kiva.
2. Bandelier National Monument: protects over 33,000 acres of rugged but beautiful canyon and mesa country as well as evidence of a human presence here going back over 11,000 years. Petroglyphs, dwellings carved into the soft rock cliffs, and standing masonry walls pay tribute to the early days.
3. Carlsbad Caverns: Rocky slopes and canyons, cactus, grass, thorny shrubs, and the occasional tree, who could guess at the hidden treasures deep underground? Beneath this rugged land are more than 119 known caves - all formed when sulfuric acid dissolved the surrounding limestone.
4. The El Rancho Hotel: is a classic abode that once hosted many Hollywood stars, such as John Wayne and Clint Eastwood in the heyday of Western films, and the hotel has been preserved to retain its classic Southwestern charm. It's another destination that has great history and reflects the original spirit of Route 66
5. White Sands National Park: Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert, creating the world's largest gypsum dunefield. White Sands National Monument preserves a major portion of this unique dunefield, along with the plants and animals that live here. website
6. Sandia Peak Tramway: If you love heights and love the feel of looking down over vast amounts of land, then a trip on the Sandia Peak Tramway in Albuquerque, New Mexico, will amaze you! The aerial tramway transports you above deep canyons and breathtaking terrain for a distance of 2.7 miles the world’s longest passenger aerial tramway. From the observation deck atop Sandia Peak (elevation 10,378 feet) you will overlook Cibola National Forest and 11,000 square miles of the Rio Grande Valley, also known as the Land of Enchantment.
7. Georgia O'Keeffe Museum: The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe is a small museum featuring her works and numerous photos from her life. If you have any interest in this remarkable artist, it's a must do.
8. Petroglyph National Monument: Petroglyph National Monument protects one of the largest petroglyph sites in North America, featuring designs and symbols carved onto volcanic rocks by Native Americans and Spanish settlers 400 to 700 years ago. These images are a valuable record of cultural expression and hold profound spiritual significance for contemporary Native Americans and for the descendants of the early Spanish settlers. website
9. Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument: 42 rooms in six caves, built into the cliff face by the Mogollon Native Americans around the year 1300. The monument has a museum and visitor center. Visitors should take note that the tours start at the cliff dwellings themselves, and it takes about a half hour to walk up to them from the trail-head.
10. Chaco Culture National Historical Park: Chaco Canyon was occupied by ancestral Puebloan peoples from about 800 to 1200AD. It was a major center comprised of 15 massive ruins and hundreds of smaller constructions. Located in a remote area northwest of Albuquerque, the park is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
11. Cumbres-Toltec Scenic Railyway: a narrow gauge heritage railroad that runs between Chama, New Mexico and Antonito, Colorado. It is the highest steam railroad in the nation. Constructed in 1880-81, this cozy train ride traverses the 10,015 ft Cumbres Pass and heads through the dramatic Toltec Gorge. Trains leave from both Chama and Antonito and return bus rides are available.
12. Pecos National Historical Park: encompasses what was once one of the largest Native American pueblos in the state. It was inhabited from early 14th century until 1838, with a population over 2,000. In 1990 the park was expanded to 6,600 acres. Also worth visiting is the nearby Civil War Battlefield of Glorieta Pass.
13. The Very Large Array: Karl G Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) - a radio astronomy observatory located on the Plains of San Agustin. The array is used to observe black holes and other astronomical phenomena.
14. Earth, Wind and Flyers: The Albuquerque International Balloon Festival: Every year during the first week of October, the skies over New Mexico, bloom with color as the balloons from the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival take to the air. Nothing rivals the grander of these gentle giants as they ascend into the deep blue desert skies or fill the night sky with glowing, illuminated shapes. The event began in 1972 with just 13 balloons that launched from a mall parking lot. Today, during the Balloon Fiesta, nearly 700 balloons launch from the 365-acre balloon park and pilots come to join the fiesta from all over the world.
15. Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Study Area: