road trip...

first of all, i'm envious, josh.

new mexico:
i'd second the recommendation for albuquerque. the sandia montains and cibola national wildflife refuge are both beautiful.

the tiny, strange town of madrid is worth driving through. it's about 50 miles northeast of albuquerque, off of I-25. there's lots of notable scenery along the way.

avoid santa fe, which is a yuppified tourist trap.

a close friend of mine, who lives in albuquerque, says the sangre de cristo mountains are definitely worth visiting, as is the white sands national monument.

i've wanted to go to the partially inhabited town of hachita ever since i first read about it in william least-heat moon's blue highways years ago. (which, by the way, is a book well worth reading, even though it's now over twenty years out of date.) hachita is nearly 300 miles south of albuquerque, though, so if you're not interested in little towns like i am, it's not worth the drive. but, you'd get to pass through truth or consequences.

arizona:
the little i saw of flagstaff, and the surrounding area was beautiful as well, but i can't tell you much more than that, since i was only there for a day or so. get the younger miranda to tell you about tucson, or try contacting detroit greg and/or jonny.

i would try stopping in the sonoran desert.

nevada:
i've only been through las vegas, but some of my family have been to rhyolite, an abandoned mining town near the eastern entrance of death valley. there's a house made out of bottles there. it's northwest of las vegas, so, again, i don't know if you'll want to go there, but from the photographs i've seen of it, it would be worth the trip.

the southwest is incredible, and i will be going back there someday.

the end.