When we were in Santa Fe with Will this summer, we hit up Roadside America for destination ideas. We never limit our explorations to just the confines of a single city, so we decided to expand this Thing to allow including the surrounding area.

This is part of our 100 Things in 2017 challenge. Here’s the full list. Click on the photos for a closer look!

One stop we found on the way back from ziplining was the bridge over the Rio Grande Gorge, which was windy and high.

We also found a museum full of bugs in a strip mall ¼ mile from our lodgings. Tons to look at, and about a half dozen to let crawl all over your hand!

We also visited the Prairie Dog Palace at Jackalope. The whole place was great; there was a glass-blowing class happening, too!

There was also an outdoor sculpture garden (where they do bronze pours also), and Will and I went on a guided ghost tour through the old part of town. Hooey, to be sure, but entertaining hooey.

On our way back to Albuquerque we stopped at this outdoor photo-board park for some silliness.

If you’ve never tried it, this is a great way to discover unique and (sometimes) fascinating things while you’re driving from place to place. It does add a bit of unpredictability to your schedule, so be sure to plan your journey in a flexible way.