Oh, how we love to visit New Mexico. It truly is The Land of Enchantment! We are enchanted by all of New Mexico, but we are particularly fond of the northern half of the state with its gorgeous mountains, breathtaking landscapes, and intriguing Native American culture.
Adding to the enchantment, New Mexico has 15 national park units, three national historic trails, and seven national scenic byways! Since it’s impossible to stop for photos at every turn we decided to share a glimpse of what we’ve seen through the windshield on our road trips through the state. Please accept our apologies for the occasional blurs, bugs, and other imperfections. Enjoy the ride.
Northwest: The Four Corners Area
Four Corners Monument is a Navajo park where the corners of the states of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona meet. Apart from our home state of Texas, those happen to be our four favorite states.
Shiprock is located on Navajo land about 15 miles southwest of the town of Shiprock. It is a 1,583-foot volcanic plug that is sacred to the Navajo people who believe the rock looks like a bird. According to legend, a big bird carried their ancestors to the top of the rock in order for them to settle in the area. The name Shiprock was coined by explorers in the 1800s who thought it looked like a ship.
North Central: Closest to Santa Fe
West Central: Closest to Albuquerque
East Central: The Middle of Nowhere
South Central: Closest to Roswell
Southwestern: Closest to Las Cruces
The following views were from I-10 between Las Cruces and Lordsburg.
Are you enchanted yet?
Thank you so much for joining us on our journey! We hope that we’ve given you a glimpse into the beautiful and diverse landscapes of New Mexico through our windshield. Our closing shot is from the north central area of the state. 
If you’re looking for additional road trip inspiration, try these ideas:
- Devils Tower Road Trip: Things to Do
- Albuquerque to Taos Road Trip: Things to Do
- Kancamagus Highway, New Hampshire
Safe travels, y’all!
Mike and Kellye
As always, we strive to be as accurate with our information as possible. If we made a mistake, it was unintentional. (Hey, we’re only human!) Our opinions are our own.
©2023
Oh my gosh, thank you for sharing so much beauty! I’ve never been in that state, it looks incredibly beautiful. How fun to stand in two different states at once! 😊
Thanks so much, John! We have some really terrible shots too, but what can you do when you’re driving 80 mph down the highway? I hope you get to visit New Mexico one day. It’s definitely worth the trip.
I take lots of photos from my truck!
Looks great!! Going to send this to my friend who lives in Santa Fe.
Thank you so much!
Very enchanted Kellye, so much stunning scenery to look at, photo opportunities all over. Love the photo of you both, awesome to be able to say you were in four states at once!
Thank you, Alison! It is a gorgeous state.
A great recap of New Mexico. We’ve been to the Taos and Santa Fe areas, but much more to explore. Maggie
Thank you. You’ve been to some of our favorite places. We love the Santa Fe and Taos areas!
I only had a taste of New Mexico several years ago when I was in Albuquerque for a conference. Despite a brief stay there, I fell in love with the Southwest US state, and I am dying to go back. I had no idea that places like the Jemez Mountain Trail National Scenic Byway were so lush and green; I figured that much of New Mexico was just desert– proved me wrong! Glad you had a fun road trip through the southwest US. 🙂
Thanks so much, Rebecca! New Mexico is full of wonderful surprises. If you get back there, go to the north-central part of the state. It’s the prettiest in our opinion.
Your picture are beautiful 🤩 I really appreciate the four corners picture, and the Shiprock one is breathtaking! Thank you both for sharing! ✨🤗💞
Thank you so much! It’s really hard to take pictures when you’re doing 80 mile per hour on the highway.
You are so welcome 🤗 looking forward to more of your travels on your site!
💕💕💕
Great picture of you at Four Corners! That is one of my favorite stops when I’m driving south- I love to lay down and be in four places at once. New Mexico is wonderous with all the different landscapes within the state and you certainly showed that beautiful diversity in your pictures 🙂
(ps, I don’t know if wordpress is updating or if my computer is acting weird, but it says that I’m not following you even though I know I am. So if you get a bunch of notifications that I’m following you it’s just me trying to figure out where the hiccup is 🙂 )
Thank you, Meg! Four Corners Monument is now a Navajo park that costs $8.00 per person to enter. It’s nice, but you have to stand in line to get a photo (3 max per person). Good ol’ WP…
that’s crazy that now there’s a cost and a line! Well now Ill know what to expect next time I’m down that way 🙂
The monument is also surrounded by permanent kisoks where people sell their goods. Last time we were there, you just drove up and went to the marker. There were hardly any other people around except for the ones selling things next to the road. Now it’s very commercialized. Everything is about the money now days.
sad but true
ENchanting indeed! I love New Mexico and hope to be back there soon. Thanks for the tour!
Thank you!
Oh my gosh, what beautiful pictures!! It looks stunning in New Mexico. Very sweet pictures of you and your husband too 😊
Aw, thank you, Jessica! New Mexico is full of surprises.
Such vast and incredibly beautiful landscapes. How wonderful to become part of the for a while. Really special. Thank you for sharing this trip with us.
Thank you! It’s a beautiful state.
Wonderful photos and article about a region I have never been but always have been interested in. 🙏🌹☀️
Thank you, Fred. I hope you get to visit there one day.
Yes, definitely enchanted! This is BIG country..I can just imagine the joy of driving the highways through that incredible scenery
Thank you! It’s truly spectacular.
This is a fabulous post with awesome photos and yet again, I find myself wishing I had gone along for the ride!
Looks epic. I’d def like to visit at some point. Be safe out there.
Thank you, Sean! I hope you get to go someday. You would feel like you were in a different country, my friend.
Thanks for the road trip. Marvelous landscapes. I’ve been to NM twice. I haven’t seen anywhere near as much of the state as you have. One area I loved is Plaza Blanca.
Thank you! We have not been to Plaza Blanca or Ghost Ranch, but we would love to visit. It would be a great excuse for another trip.
What a fun idea for a post! Even from the windshield it looks beautiful! I can see why you are enchanted by NM. I have not been in NM or CO yet, one day!
Thank you, Lyssy! I hope you get to both of them. They are fabulous states.
Thanks for the tour! Such unique landscapes. Thanks for the heads up that one picture wasn’t a video. It sure did look like one! Safe travels!
Thank you, Betty!
Splendid landscapes and you have showcased them well Kellye. So much amazing scenery to see. Hopefully, it was not all through the windshield. Although, we are just back from a 2 day 1,320 km (820 mile) drive through smoke, rain and scenery, so who are we to talk. 🤗 Happy Thursday Kellye. Allan
Thanks so much, Allan! We will be posting some of our road trip stops over the next few weeks. I will be looking forward to posts from your recent trip too.
What a great idea for a post! We loved our NM road trip, one of our favourites ever 😀 So much variety, so many scenic byways (as you have highlighted), and such stunning landscapes. Thank you for taking me back 🙂
Thank you, Sarah. It is definitely a diverse state. Glad we could take you back.
As always, great photos. I love the Four Corners Monument photo. Shiprock has such an interesting shape, like something from another planet. Great post!
Love that post!
Thank you!
WOW – incredible views from a window. I love how the roads open up to such landscapes….we don’t have roads like that in England!
Thanks, Hannah! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a road in England. We are lucky to have wide open spaces with such pretty views.
Most of them are barely wide enough for 1 car with all overgrown trees and crazy bends hehe – the opposite of your photos!
What a great trip, Kellye!! Great captures and thoroughly enjoyed !!!
Thank you, Jyothi!
Thanks for sharing this amazing scenery. Love these photos. Anita.
Thank you, Anita!
The Ghostly Shiprock looks surreal!
Isn’t it something? Thank you for checking out our post.
I am very much enchanted with New Mexico after scrolling through your pictures. Seems like a great spot to take a road trip and enjoy the scenery!
Thank you so much! It really is a great place for road trips.
What great photos! New Mexico is a beautiful state and one that I’d like to go back to and explore the areas I didn’t have time for.
Thank you, Donna! Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have the time and money to spend a month or two in every state?
Enchanted … definitely
Thank you, Brenda!
We finally got to New Mexico last year and we loved it. We just didn’t have enough time. The whole southwest landscape is so alluring. I love it.
Thank you for checking out the post, Dan! We enjoy going back to New Mexico over and over. We never get tired of visiting there.
Stunning views Kellye! I want to stand on the Four Corners Monument!
Just hop in your car, my friend! (Don’t we all wish it were that easy?)
We love road trips! I also take pictures while we drive, but mine are nowhere near as beautiful as yours. Lovely photo of you guys in all four states! It’s great to see so many different landscapes. Some of the long and open roads remind me a lot of our roads here in South Africa … so do the cattle along the road (here they think the roads belong to them 😁). Thanks for a great road trip!
Thank you so much! Cows make us laugh and we honk at them too, to see if they’ll look up.
Beautiful drive. Land of Enchantment indeed.
Thank you!
Ah Kellye, such a beautiful, dramatic and cinematic region. As non-drivers, your article is most likely the closest we will ever come to doing such a tour. The quietness and the desolation of much of this landscape definitely appeals to our introverted tendencies. I had to laugh at your “that’s not a video” comment, took me a few beats to understand. Yes, we are enchanted!
Thank you so much, Leighton. Come on over and we will take you guys on a road trip.
Kellye, one of these years we might just surprise you and do that!
Come on!
Amazing photos! I know absolutely nothing about New Mexico so thank you for sharing and giving me a glimpse. I have been looking at it on the map.
Thank you, Wayne! It’s a beautiful state. I hope you get to visit there sometime.
Oh that would be the dream! It’s amazing you can travel through different states by car.
Yes, road trips are quite fun. I hope you get to visit the US someday and experience it for yourself.
Oh me too. I’ve been a few times but there’s just so much to see!!!