Nancy Eisenstein
Thirty members of the SaddleBrooke Ranch National Parks Club toured southern New Mexico in October 2025 with Pleasurebent Tours. Our trip was originally going to cover three parks and Trinity Site but due to the shutdown, we were able to visit two out of four. We followed the phrase, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” That is exactly what we did! We learned about the Butterfield Stagecoach, Billy the Kid, the Gadsden Purchase, the Carrizozo Lava Flow, Fort Stanton, and the Lincoln County War.
We visited the New Mexico State University Art Museum in Las Cruces, Valley of Fires Recreation Area in Carrizozo, the New Mexico University Museum of Space and White Sands National Park in Alamogordo, Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park in Carlsbad, Bottomless Lakes State Park in Roswell, Hueco Tanks State Park and Historic Site in El Paso, and the Amerind Museum in Dragoon.
We toured McGinn’s Pistachioland, checked out the UFO Museum, walked the nature trail at Guadalupe National Park, took the El Paso Street Car Tour and Pecos River Tour, toured Tiritto Farms complete with lunch and beer or wine tasting in Wilcox and had dessert at Apple Annies.
We were treated to delicious meals with plenty of food, perfect weather, and like–minded traveling companions who had a fun time together!