By Curtis Holloway
The BMW Car Club of America New Mexico Chapter April 7, 2024 driving adventure started in Socorro where we met our northern contingent on a brisk Saturday morning. At 8:45 am we headed off down I-25 towards US Highway 380. We had a fun spirited drive on the 85 miles east heading over to Carrizozo as we drove through historic San Antonio and drove past the Buckhorn Tavern and the Owl Bar Café. Those establishments are known for their green chile cheeseburgers, which made us anxious for lunch, as we were headed to Rockin’ BZ Burgers to meet the chapter’s Borderland group.
We turned south on US Highway 54 once through Carrizozo and continued for 65 miles to Alamogordo. We arrived around 11:15am and chatted with the Borderland group before we headed into Rockin’ BZ Burgers for lunch. The place was busy and they held up to their reputation of great chile cheeseburgers.
After lunch, we drove the three miles east towards the New Mexico Museum of Space History, nestled in the Sacramento Mountains. Upon arrival and like kids, the group bee-lined it to all the cool rockets sitting outside in front of the museum. We checked out the exhibits outside and enjoyed the picturesque view of the valley with White Sands National Park and Holloman Air Force Base (both very instrumental in the history of space exploration) in the distance. As a group, we then headed up to the fourth floor of the museum and ventured down to each level to check out the history of space exploration and New Mexico’s significant contributions to it.
After our educational tour of the Space Museum, we all headed home except a few folks ventured east to watch the eclipse in Texas. It was a long day, but hard to beat a beautiful drive through southern New Mexico, green chile cheeseburgers, and a new appreciation for space exploration.
Photos by by Peter Brisbine, Richard Massey and Phil Undercuffler
