How to do the great American road trip: New Mexico to Texas

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. open image in gallery Big Bend National Park includes the entire Chisos mountain range The Lost Alaskan RV Park proved a perfect hideaway after the 266-mile jaunt south from New Mexico, which we had been forced to abandon at the first sight of snow. open image in gallery White Sands National Park is home to world’s largest gypsum dunefield This was also ideal for forays to Silver City, White Sands National Park, and Alamogordo, site of the first atomic bomb test in 1945. open image in gallery Billy the Kid made his name in Texan cowboy country Back on the desert floor, White Sands was another “wow.” A 275-square-mile field of pure white gypsum ground to a fine powder, this unique geological anomaly was formed 10,000 years ago with dunes that have drifted back and forth in the Tularosa Basin ever since. open image in gallery South Padre island stretches 12 miles, from Isla Blanca Park to Sea Shell Beach Next: Texas to Louisiana.