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On our last adventure, we explored the Catwalk Recreation Area
in Glenwood, New Mexico.
After finishing up my exploration, I hopped in the car to head southeast
towards Carlsbad, New Mexico.
Yeah, that's right. Another 357 miles of driving with stops along the way.
All that and more on part two of our road trip through New Mexico.
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Alright, I am leaving the Catwalk Recreation Area and it was fantastic.
Got a little bit of a sunburn too.
Yeah, I spent a lot longer there than I had budgeted.
As for now, I have to hightail it down to Carlsbad, New Mexico.
According to Google maps for my current location, I have 5 hours and 55 minutes.
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Oh it's hot. It is getting hotter as I leave the Gila National Forest area.
Whew doggy.
I saw that there was a historic marker right off the main drag out there so I thought I'd
stop and see what this is all about.
Apparently, I think this is the site of the ranch headquarters from one of the
largest ranches out here in the west.
Looks like back in the 1800s into the early 1900s.
Oh! On the other side of this thing, there's some points of interest with bullet holes.
Maybe the bullet holes are the points of interest, huh?
[Gunshots effect]
Silver City town limits. Elevation 5900.
Are we just gonna drive through or are we gonna stop?
Alright, we're actually curving around now and heading down into the town here.
Silver City.
It's kind of a quaint town actually. I bet you that was the historic downtown right there.
It looks like there's free parking here.
So why don't we do that?
We're gonna just go explore.
I decided we've been sitting on our butts too long here.
Need to get out and stretch our legs and explore Silver City, the historic district.
I have no idea what to expect here.
Here's some classic rides.
A Matador.
What is a Matador? I'm not really a car guy.
It's a Dodge. A Dodge Matador.
Okay, so this was a good stop. I already see this town has a lot of character.
This is the other side of that really colorful building.
But, yeah, these murals are so cool. Look at this.
This looks like it's called the Conway House.
Apartments actually.
They do have vacancy.
How could something like that not be haunted?
That is like the poster child for haunted houses.
Back in the day in the 1800s a lot of residential
houses were mixed in with the shops on the street and many of the houses didn't survive.
However this house, the Isaac N Cohen House,
is still here. It was built in 1882.
Dude. Look at this.
I think it's an old movie theater that has been converted into a barbershop.
I'm here during the week. It's a Wednesday.
I don't know if it's usually more hopping than this.
It probably is on the weekends.
That is the epitome of the southwest, I would say.
That sums it up all right there.
Oh look! There's a bridge over there.
To me, it's an obligatory thing. I have to cross the bridge. I just can't not do it.
Any of you guys like that out there?
Let's go check this bridge out really quick and see what's below.
Is there any water? Is it dried up? I do see water. Not a lot.
Is this the Gila River?
I know I crossed the Gila River on the way here but I didn't really make note of what this actually is.
There's somebody down there catching some z's on a bench in the shade.
I didn't really want to put on a major production down there and disturb the gentleman.
That was pretty neat. Wasn't much to that.
I think it might continue that way but we were going this way.
Oh look. They're having a Quentin Tarantino film festival.
June 3rd through the 13th.
It's an old theater.
That is definitely a classic. The town of Silver City.
Okay, so I'm gonna turn around now and we'll walk back up this way.
I think we saw most of the historic section here
and I really like it a lot.
I'm gonna guess like most towns in the 1800s that probably a lot of the stuff burned down.
You know, a lot of stuff was built with wood back in the day but
what does remain is really cool.
Just love the style of that time.
It just seems like, you know, in our day and age...
Just think of maybe your house or your apartment building.
Is all that crap gonna stand the test of time?
Is it gonna be as interesting as this?
[Deep accented voice] They ain't make 'em like they used to.
Okay, the Google maps lady and I had a conversation and she got me back on track
so we are now exiting Silver City
and that whole adventure there added about,
let's see, an hour to my overall itinerary.
I am now expected to arrive in Carlsbad at about 8:22 pm.
So, yeah, that cost about an hour. That's okay though.
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It may be a little counter-intuitive to some but the most
optimal route between Silver City and Carlsbad takes you into Texas for a bit.
First through El Paso and then deep into the Chihuahuan Desert,
a region I've never explored before.
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I'm just gonna cross the road.
There's really no hurry, is there? [Laughter]
Ain't too many people around here.
Let's go get a better look at the Guadalupe Mountains back over here.
I wanted to actually just get out of the car.
There's a fly flying around me.
I wanted to just get out of the car and set my foot on firm ground in the state of Texas.
Just to say I did. So here I am.
The Cactus Atlas in Texas.
I think we're gonna be heading now north towards New Mexico
and my destination is not too terribly far off so I just wanted to take one opportunity
to do this before it's too late.
This here is pretty.
So these are those...
I'm assuming they're yuccas.
Plants native to the Chihuahuan Desert.
They almost look like little miniature Joshua trees.
I wonder if they're related to Joshua trees or in the same family.
I bet they are. I just somehow feel like I have heard that or something.
Just hanging out here with my friends.
They get a really nice view.
[Wind blowing]
Alright, there's only one last thing I need to do to make my visit here,
my short time in Texas, official.
Grab me some of this fine Texas sand.
Alright, let's get out of here.
So yeah, Guadalupe. It's one of those things that...
I'm not sure.
Everybody has different pronunciations of it depending on the region.
Where I'm from people say guad-a-loop-ay.
I know in texas people say guad-a-loop.
I don't know, like, what the mountains are called. I'm going to say guad-a-loop-ay.
I had to stop one last time.
Sun's about to go down behind those hills over there.
Just wanted to get the Guadalupe mountains one last time.
Really pretty.
[Wind blowing]
It's just unfortunate there aren't more like scenic pull-offs or anything on this road.
I just pulled over right on the side.
I mean there's barely any traffic.
I figured why not.
Anyway, one last look here, guys.
Guadalupe mountains.
Or guad-a-loop.
I have yet to look that up.
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The rest of my drive was through the Guadalupe mountains at sunset.
This ended up being one of the highlights of my trip.
Just one of those coincidental things that just worked out like that.
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Tired and hungry I pushed on through the last minutes of my journey
but before I could get to my hotel the google maps lady had the last laugh
and led me into a dead-end parking lot.
But, hey, straight ahead is the Hyatt House in Carlsbad where I spent the night.
Alright, I finally arrived and checked into my hotel.
I'm at the Hyatt House in Carlsbad.
Just give you a quick look at the digs.
This place was really highly rated and I can see why.
It's really clean. Really modern. Really new.
New feeling and smelling. It has that new hotel smell.
Look at the bathroom too.
This is nicer than any chain hotel I've stayed at in recent memory.
Probably just because it's brand spanking new, I'm guessing.
Everything just looks too pristine.
A pretty clean micro... a very clean microwave I'd say. Spotless.
And, like, modern. Not, like, from the 1980s.
Everything you need to survive and then some. Yeah, this is cozy too.
This little couch. I might do some editing later
but now I need to go find something to nibble on.
Because I got here so late there's unfortunately not a lot open.
It just seemed like a hassle so I went downstairs and this is what I scrounged up.
Unfortunately got here too late, you know.
I got a microwavable Philly cheesesteak.
Ray bears.
Or is it Raybern's? I'm sorry. Raybern's Philly cheesesteak.
And then I needed something to take the edge off from driving all day long so
I got an old-fashioned in a... in a bottle.
You know, I'm not really a microwave food connoisseur.
Usually. [Laughter]
I'm usually leery of this kind of thing but sometimes in life
you got to have your richly seasoned beef and melted American cheese.
Alright, should I be worried?
It said to put it in for, like, 90 seconds if it's frozen.
Oh yeah, it feels hot.
I followed the directions.
Whoa, the bread actually feels bread-like. It doesn't feel...
Hmm. Maybe this isn't gonna be so bad after all.
I should give Raybern's a chance.
Glass jar here.
Whoa.
Okay, so the next order of business.
The more important thing is this.
If I microwave this bad boy... It's still hot. I was letting it cool off...
I'm curious. Is it gonna have that typical rubbery bread,
microwave bread, or did they somehow master that. Let's see.
I think it's just cheese and some kind of processed beef, I'm guessing.
I mean it's microwavable so I mean you can't expect too much.
See?
You know, seriously...
What makes this halfway okay... It's not the stuff inside.
The stuff inside is kind of scant.
The bread!
It's like the first microwave thing I've ever had with bread where the bread
actually has got some, like, fluffiness. Freshness to it.
Strangest thing.
I wonder if these are made locally or something. I've never heard of this brand but
way exceeds my expectation for, like, a microwave meal.
After polishing off that microwavable delight I promptly fell asleep and
dreamt of driving endless roads.
I woke up the next morning and set out to explore Carlsbad Caverns for the very first time.
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I'll just say it in advance. It left a lasting impression on me.
I can't wait to share this video with you,
however, you're going to need to tune in next week to see that one.
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