Southern New Mexico - American Southwest - page 316

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the Artist Gallery, 120 S. Canyon St. ( & 575/887-1210 ), selling local and regional art.
Look especially for Helen Gwinn's mixed-media pieces.

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
Recreational facilities in the Carlsbad area include some two dozen parks, several golf
courses, numerous tennis courts and swimming pools, a municipal beach, and a shooting
and archery range. Contact the City of Carlsbad Recreation Department ( & 575/887-
1191 ).
Living Desert Zoo & Gardens State Park Kids Situated within 1,200 acres of
authentic Chihuahuan Desert, this park contains more than 50 species of desert mam-
mals, birds, and reptiles, and almost 500 varieties of plants. Even for someone like me,
who cringes at the thought of zoos, this is a pleasant 1.3-mile walk. You pass through
displays with plaques pointing out vegetation, such as mountain mahogany, and geologic
formations such as gypsum sinkholes. In addition to a nocturnal exhibit, you're likely to
see lizards and other wild creatures, as well as captive ones.
Rehabilitation programs provide for the park's animals, which have been sick or
injured and are no longer able to survive in the wild. You'll see golden eagles and great
horned owls among the birds of prey in the aviary, and large animals such as deer and elk
in outdoor pastures. The view from the park, high atop the Ocotillo Hills on the north-
west side of Carlsbad, is superb.
1504 Miehls Dr. (P.O. Box 100), Carlsbad, NM 88221-0100. & 575/887-5516. www.emnrd.state.nm.us/
prd/livingdesert.htm. Admission $5 adults, $3 children 7-12, free for children 6 and under. Group rates
are available. Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day 8am-8pm, last park entry by 6:30pm; rest of year
9am-5pm, last park entry by 3:30pm. Gift shop closes 45 min. prior to zoo. Closed Christmas. Take Miehls
Dr. off US 285 west of town and proceed just over a mile.

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WHERE TO STAY IN & AROUND CARLSBAD
Most properties are along the highway south toward Carlsbad Caverns National Park (see
“Carlsbad Caverns National Park,” below). Only the Best Western Cavern Inn is near the
National Park. The downside to staying there is that your restaurant and activity options
are limited.
Best Western Cavern Inn If you'd like to be close to the caverns, this hotel is there,
but it's not my choice. This whole complex could use updating, but seems to survive
because it's the only lodging near the caverns. The lobby is within an Old West store-
front, and the accommodations are across the street. The staff here seems to be over-
worked, so you may not get the service you would in Carlsbad. The motel has two main
sections. The best is the Cavern Inn. This section is built around a courtyard, and rooms
have an updated feel, with vigas on the ceilings and Southwestern pine furniture. Bath-
rooms are roomy enough, and the beds are comfortably firm. Next door, the two-story
Walnut Canyon Inn provides 1970s rooms that are large, though the small bathrooms
with jetted tubs could use sprucing up.
The White's City Arcade contains a post office, a grocery store, a gift shop, and the
Million Dollar Museum of various antiques and paraphernalia. The hotel's two restau-
rants serve three meals in an ambience that could also use updating.
17 Carlsbad Cavern Hwy. at NM 7 (P.O. Box 128), White's City, NM 88268. & 800/CAVERNS [228-3767] or
575/785-2291. Fax [phone]. www.bestwestern.com. 63 units. May 15-Sept 15 $104 double; Sept
16-May 14 $85 double. Rates include breakfast. AE, DC, DISC, MC, V. Pets welcome, with $10 fee. Ameni-
ties: 2 restaurants; bar; outdoor pool. In room: A/C, TV, hair dryer, Wi-Fi.