Last weekend, I embarked on another road trip through some of the Southwest. We went to Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands, repeats for me, and also to Petrified Forest National Park, a place I have not been to since I was quite small. I naturally took many photos, and they are now posted.
Besides myself, some friends from work also went on the adventure: Steve, Eric, and Chi. Chi also flew his girlfriend to meet us in El Paso, which was our first stopping point on Thursday night. From there, we went to Carlsbad the next morning, but not before passing a border patrol station. Apparently they have these within the U.S. now. The border agents asked for the three Asians' IDs, but neglected to request the IDs of the two white guys. Clearly racial profiling at its finest.
After Carlsbad, we headed back west to White Sands, but we ran into a very nasty rainstorm on the way. I could barely see the road. We did eventually make it though, and just in time for sunset. We then drove the rest of the way to Albuquerque to spend the night.
The following morning we drove the few hours to Petried Forest National Park, where we spent most of the day completing most of the scenic hikes the park has to offer. We left just as the park was closing and made our way to Show Low, a town of just under 12,000. Despite its small size, it was host to the largest Hampton Inn I have ever seen. The following morning, we made our way back to Tucson.