Thanksgiving Road Trip: New Mexico - Day 7 - Carlsbad Caverns & Drive Home

It was the best kind of Black Friday spent exploring. We couldn't visit New Mexico without a stop at the states' #1 attraction, one that I visited when I was the kids' ages - Carlsbad Caverns, our 5th and final National Park and Monument, where the kids got their final Junior Ranger badge. Honestly, the state of New Mexico exceeded our expectations and our 7 days on the road was jam packed with the ideal amount of road trip adventure, learning, experiencing of new things, climbing and fun! We can confidently say we fully embraced "The Land of Enchantment."

My favorite concluding memory on the night we got home at 10PM, after 38 hours in the car over 7 days and 2101 miles driven, was when all 3 kids asked us if they could sleep with us. I told all of them they were crazy that we have been "parenting" them 24/7 for 7 FULL days in small hotel rooms and an even smaller van and that mom and dad needed a break tonight. They all responded that they just loved us so much. It truly melted my heart and confirmed how much I adore my family road trips. We come back so much closer and connected.

Our favorite #hashtag memories included:

#theBallIsComingInTheTrip

#2cities2countries1picture

#momCrazyAtSpanish

#momSpeakingSpanish

#mom&dadRollingDownTheSandDune

#everyoneIsNicerInTexas

#LastTripInB.O.W.

#enneogramNumber

#only35yardsToThePool

#oneMorePicture

#weNeedGas

#tooManyLaddersForDelaney

#shhhhh

#happyHalfBirthdayAddison

#aquaforAllDayAndNight

#DelaneyObsessedWithFindingTurquoise

#stayHealthy

#SheepSkinHide&Seek

#ILoveCANDY

#IAmAFishingPoleAndShovel

#SafeRoom

#ThankYouFatherPrayer

Key take-a-ways: The kids, ages 5, 10 and 11.5 were at absolutely at ideal ages for this type of road trip. With this being the kids 4th major road trip in just 8 months, the 2101 miles were a breeze and it did reconfirm how you can build up to this kind of long road trip over time reflecting back from our very first one that was over our typical 5 hours, to Palo Duro Canyon in March 2017.