White Sands National Monument – breathtaking wavelike dunes of snow-white gypsum that stretch for nearly 300 miles.

New Mexico Museum of Space History – Alamogordo – includes IMAX theater, planetarium, astronaut memorial park, air and space park.

Flickinger Center for the Performing Arts – Alamogordo – live theater, musical productions and classic movies.

Alameda Park Zoo – Alamogordo – the oldest zoo in the Southwest, featuring 300 animals representing 90 different species.

Oliver Lee Memorial State Park – Alamogordo – historic Apaches used the canyon as a stronghold in 19th century conflicts with the U.S. militia.

St. Francis de Paula Church – Tularosa – traditional New Mexican Catholic Church built in 1869.

Valley of Fire – a black band of ancient volcanic matter that measures five miles wide and 40 miles long.

Three Rivers Petroglyph Site – an outstanding example ofprehistoric Native American Art.

Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort and Casino – Mescalero – Southern New Mexico’s only AAA Four Diamond Resort.

St. Joseph’s Mission – Mescalero – a Gothic Cathedral built as a tribute to the Mescalero people and those who died in World War II.

Cloudcroft – a charming mountain town and site of the famous Lodge at Cloudcroft with its infamous ghost and the historic railroad trestle.

National Solar Observatory – at Sunspot near Cloudcroft.

Ski Apache – Mescalero – New Mexico’s second largest ski area. (Season: late November –April)

Spencer Theater for Performing Arts – Alto – a year-round venue for world-class performers in theater and dance.

Billy the Kid Casino, Ruidoso Downs Horse Racing Track, Hubbard Museum of the American West –Ruidoso Downs (Track open May – September)

Smokey Bear Historical State Park – Capitan – forest health, forest fires, wildland/urban interface issues and fire ecology exhibits.

Lincoln State Monument – Lincoln – 11 historic adobe and stone buildings just as they were during one of the most violent periods in New Mexican history.

Carrizozo Heritage Museum – Carrizozo (Closed Sundays and Mondays)