Most of the travelers who come to
southern New Mexico
are here to visit
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
. Crassly commercialized it may be, but, like the Grand Canyon, it's too amazing a geological spectacle to miss. Northwest of Carlsbad, the
Sacramento
and
Jicarilla mountains
- home to the
MescaleroApache
reservation as well as some rough-and-ready resorts with alpine settings to match Taos - rise from the desert plains once roamed by Billy the Kid and other Wild West heroes. The desolate dunes of the
White Sands
- half national park, half missile and bombing range - spread west of the mountains with the rolling hills of the
Rio Grande Valley
beyond. The little-visited southwest corner is among the most attractive reaches of the Southwest, with dozens more ghost towns and some fine scenery, plus the undisturbed pre-Columbian remains of the
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
.
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