I still hope to meet you in person someday when I visit my family in Arizona! Going to Oregon this summer (I really like being in Oregon in the Summertime) and possibly (budget is the issue) to Arizona in the Fall or Winter. I used to go to California a lot but the last time I traveled to New Mexico I was a teenager. We went to Carlsbad Caverns and I remember getting in a colossal fight with my mom during that trip (It was Thanksgiving and a huge snowstorm actually shut the park down--a highly unusual event. We did not do well together when we were confined in a small space). If it is the Fall or Spring, I am thinking a more leisurely trip from Las Cruces to Sante Fe is in order. There are a lot of small towns along Interstate 25--do you have a favorite?