Hi! I’m Mark, the New Mexico Travel Guy, and this is my blog New Mexico & Beyond. This blog documents my travels within the great State of New Mexico, and a few places beyond. My current focus is on visiting EVERY town in my home state of New Mexico. But rather than check off a list of places as quickly as possible, I intend to savor it by writing one...
Faywood is one of the many towns in New Mexico that most people have never heard of. After all, this town of 20 – 40 people isn’t exactly a booming metropolis. But if you mention “City of Rocks State Park”, you may get a few affirmative head nods, particularly from people who like camping. Many people consider City of Rocks to be one of the...
At first glance, you’d think New Mexico and Japan have very little in common, other than some good Japanese restaurants. Heck, even that may come as a surprise. Sushi in New Mexico? Yes, despite being landlocked in a high desert, we have some good sushi restaurants. You may also be surprised to learn that one of Albuquerque’s sister cities is Sasebo...
Free outdoor concerts and films each summer in Santa Fe from June through August
After a full-day of adventures in Iquitos (Peru), my son and I woke up the next morning with the realization that the most adventurous part of our trip was just beginning. We were about to face four days and three nights in the Peruvian Amazon jungle, with the goal of seeing lots of birds (my goal) and snakes (my son’s goal … unfortunately). We’d...
Iquitos, Peru was definitely a major change of scene compared to the relatively clean, laid-back streets of Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz in the Galapagos. What follows are some of the memorable experiences that my son and I had in Iquitos, in case you’re planning to visit this gateway to the Amazon. Table of ContentsThe long journey from Galapagos to Iquitos...
To follow up on my earlier post about Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos, this article will feature another one of the 13 major islands of the Galapagos: Isabela Island. I picked Isabela Island as my second Galapagos destination as I’d heard there was a good chance of seeing blue-footed boobies there. What can I say, I’m a nerd. Table of ContentsThe ferry...
This week, I focused on writing an obituary for my father, Erkki Bjorn Wilhelm Aspelin, who passed away on April 10, 2023 at the age of 81. It’s hard to summarize your dad’s life in an obituary, but here’s what I came up with. Erkki Bjorn Wilhelm Aspelin Obituary When Erkki Aspelin was born in Oulu, Finland on June 27, 1941, it’s a safe bet that he...
The next few blog posts fall into the “and beyond” portion of my New Mexico and Beyond blog. As a wildlife biology nerd, I recently made the requisite, once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. My 18-year old son is really into reptiles, and I’m into birds, so we made a great team as we explored Santa Cruz and Isabela...
Alien chases and crawls, UFO lectures, human and pet costume contests - everything you need to know about this quirky and fun event
When it comes to horse racing, I’m an idiot. Then again, I’m an idiot when it comes to most things in life, so perhaps that’s not saying much. I have very limited experience with horses and I’m not into gambling or betting. So, it’s probably a good thing that I’ve never been to a horse race before. But on a sunny August afternoon...