Las Cruces to Carlsbad, NM

[Bk Yd Safari]

We're planning a fall trip that will include Carlsbad Caverns, towing from Las Cruces to Carlsbad. We're not interesting in taking the route through El Paso, TX.
1. What are the road conditions on US82 between Alamogordo and Artesia?
2. What can I expect at the US Border Patrol Checkpoint on US70 north of Las Cruces?
3. Can I tow the Loop Rd at White Sands National Monument? Some photos show a lot of sand in the road.
The tv is a 2009 5.3L engine crew cab Silverado with tow package.

[Someday'59]

I can answer numbers 1 and 3.

1) The drive from Carlsbad to Alamogordo is scenic. Closer to to Alamogordo, it is somewhat mountainous. I did the last half of that drive after dark but I wish we could have seen it during the day. Watch out for ELK.

3) Yes. You can tow through White Sands. Yes, there will be sand on the road. We camped at White Sands in a tent. Our Airstream stayed in the parking lot. (Blog post about our trip to White Sands: 1959 Airstream Overlander, "Someday": Two Wedding Triangle Trip)

You might find a little more on this topic on this recent thread: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...so-131906.html

[J. Morgan]

#2. If you are an American Citizen chances are better than 99 out of 100 they will wave you right through after asking about you citizenship.


1/2 Ton 4WD Truck, 72 Sovereign Hensley Arrow

[Chuhhuniban]

The highways you are proposing are relatively easy. I've pulled all of them in an old Chinook motor home with a Jeep behind and then with my 25' Flying Cloud behind a 99 Tahoe and then a 2012 Expedition. Even up over Cloudcroft from Almagordo.

If you can, find a copy of Bransford In Arcadia by Eugene Manlove Rhodes and read it before you visit the area. Gene Rhodes was a real cowboy in New Mexico from his birth until the 1930s and wrote the best "westerns" ever. Guys like Zane Grey were phonies (he was a dentist from upstate NY).

The folks at the Border Patrol checkpoints are pretty much relaxed unless you look like you have 37 illegals in your AS. I'm a native of AZ and spend a lot of time in NM and have since the early 1950s.

[Chuhhuniban]

You might also look at Ruidoso - Hondo Valley. It's the next one north of the route into Almagordo. Scienic too.

[Doc Foster]

Originally Posted by Bk Yd Safari

3. Can I tow the Loop Rd at White Sands National Monument? Some photos show a lot of sand in the road.

Yes you can, it is quite hard packed. We were there a couple of years ago before we upgraded to an Airstream. I would highly recommend the Dune Life Nature Trail.

[smlbob]

I would recommend Brantley Lake State Park off US285 just north of Carlsbad. We stayed there a few nights ago, and found it to be a nice campground.