Last summer my friend and I took a road trip to see the Guadalupe Mountains, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, and took in some fun roadside attractions along the way. We headed out from the Tulsa area at the end of August while it was still quite warm, but the blazing rays of the sun were just beginning to quell, and made our first stop at Medicine Park in another mountain range, the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma.
Medicine Park
Medicine Park is a historic cobblestone resort town, where most every structure, even the homes, are made of these near-perfectly rounded pink granite stones to form what is also known as “cannonball architecture.” One of the most famous cobblestone buildings is situated in the center of town, the Old Plantation Restaurant, where we had lunch. Surrounded by the lush Lake Lawtonka Trails, Medicine Park is also popular among cyclists. As we drove through town, I was repeatedly surprised by how much of it was made of these cute cobblestones! This wooded, vintage town is the perfect place to rest and take in the hilly Wichitas that surround it.
From Medicine Park, we drove on to Lubbock, Texas, to stay for the night. There we visited the gravesite of singer-songwriter Buddy Holly, his childhood home in Lubbock, and the Buddy Holly Center. This was a great place to stretch our legs and soak in one of this country’s great talents.
Buddy Holly was born in Lubbock, Texas on September 7, 1936. He grew up to be one of America’s most beloved singer-songwriters. Holly started his musical career in 1955 after he and a friend played a gig that opened for Elvis. Soon after, he became a member of the band The Crickets and went on to write some of the era’s most iconic songs like “That’ll Be the Day,” “Peggy Sue,” “Everyday,” and my favorite, “Rave On.” His renowned career was short-lived though, coming to an abrupt end when he died in a small plane crash with Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper, and the pilot, Roger Peterson on February 3, 1959. The tragic crash was the topic of Don McLean’s lyric “The Day the Music Died” in his song “American Pie.”
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
After lunch, we headed to Whites City Cavern Inn in Whites City in southern New Mexico, where we stayed for two nights while we explored nearby Carlsbad Caverns. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, located in the Chihuahuan Desert under the agaves and prickly pears, encompasses over 100 caves, including the main show cave, Carlsbad Cavern, and Lechuguilla Cave – which is, at 1,588.6 feet, the seventh-deepest cave in the U. S.
Visitors have the option to use the natural entrance or to take the elevator to the lower dens of the cavern, and we opted to enjoy the scenery and take the natural entrance down, then afterwards to take the elevator back up. It’s a long, winding walk down and I was a bit winded by the end, so I can imagine the uphill walk would be rough for a lightly active person like myself. The trail through the cave was a good hour and a half walk, providing time to take in all of its magnificence.
The cavern houses many unique rooms and sections, offering new and spectacular sights around every corner, with some of my favorites being Lion’s Tail, Fairyland, Doll’s Theater, and Chinese Theater. Visitors can also see the Hall of Giants, the stalactite Chandelier hanging from the ceiling of the Big Room, the long and slender totem pole in the back of the Big Room, and the massive Temple of the Sun column with hundreds of stalactites surrounding it
On the evening of our visit to the cavern, we got to watch the bat flight at twilight, a mysterious and wondrous sight to behold and highly recommended if you’re visiting the area. However I have no photos because there’s a strict no phone/camera policy so the bats will not be affected during their flight.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
The next day was reserved for hiking in the Guadalupe mountains in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which is in north Texas and is just a half hour drive from Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We stopped at the visitor center and decided to explore the Frijole Ranch Trail near Hunter Peak. There we saw desert flowers, lizards, and an open, brushy landscape.
After all of the hiking, we made one more stop in nearby Roswell to see all of the alien themed shops. The way the whole town celebrates is out of this world! If you’re near Roswell but strapped for time, I’d definitely recommend at least stopping at the space-age McDonald’s!
So if you’re looking for classic Americana roadside attractions, beautiful, unique landscapes and wondrous, enigmatic caverns, then Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Carlsbad Caverns National Park might be the perfect destinations for your next adventure. Full of plenty of hiking trails and natural beauty, this was the perfect getaway for us to enjoy nature and some incredible road stops.
