This was my 4th Sun Tour — a quick two-night Thanksgiving Motorcoach getaway Tour to Cloudcroft, New Mexico, with stops at Spaceport America, White Sands National Monument (well… sort of), the Heart of the Desert Pistachio Farm, and Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. Short trip. Big memories. And yes, there was wine involved.
I’ll be honest with you — I started writing this post the day after I got home in November 2024, brimming with enthusiasm. Then life happened. Now it’s 2026. But you know what? Some stories are worth telling no matter when they land, and this one is too good to let disappear into the drafts folder.
So here we go. Tidy version. No fluff added. Just the good stuff.
The Group – the Sun Tours Thanksgiving Motorcoach Tour
This was my 4th tour with Sun Tours, (my first one in July of 2024 – read that one here) and I had 30 passengers all in the holiday spirit. Their reasons for spending Thanksgiving on a motorcoach varied — some were looking for adventure, some wanted to do something different, and more than a few mentioned not wanting to accept a “pity invite” from friends or family. Several just wanted to spend the holiday with their Sun Tours family and meet new people.
Whatever brought them, every single one of them was ready for a great time. And I think we delivered.
Stop 1: Spaceport America — Truth or Consequences, New Mexico
Our first stop was at Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico — the first purpose-built commercial spaceport in the United States. This place is genuinely cool, and I say that as someone who has been to a lot of “genuinely cool” places.
The main tenant at Spaceport America is Virgin Galactic, the commercial spaceflight company founded by Sir Richard Branson. Virgin Galactic takes passengers up to the edge of space — and if you’ve got $600,000 and can wait out a 7-year waiting list, you could be one of them. They fly roughly every two weeks, with four passengers per flight. Not exactly budget travel, but hey, it’s space.
The tour itself was fascinating — covering the technology, the mission, and the infrastructure that makes it all work. One of the highlights that really surprised our group was discovering that Spaceport America has its own fire department. Not just a token setup — a real, fully operational fire station with full gear, massive specialized vehicles, and staff on site. The firefighters were incredibly welcoming and let our guests get up close with the equipment. Let’s just say a few guests got very comfortable behind the wheel of a fire truck and in some firefighter gear. No one wanted to leave.
The Spaceport tour ran a bit longer than scheduled — which honestly, nobody complained about — but it meant we arrived at our hotel in Cloudcroft after dark.
And it came with a ride!
And only the brave (not me) enjoyed the 360-degree spinning device at the Spaceport America visitor museum, called the G-Shock simulator. It is a human gyroscope machine that straps you in and tumbles you in multiple directions to simulate the disorienting, gravity-defying forces of space.
The Lodge at Cloudcroft
The Lodge at Cloudcroft has been a resort destination since 1899, and the moment you pull up, you feel it. Perched at 9,000 feet in the Sacramento Mountains, this place has genuine historic character — the kind that comes from over a century of guests, stories, and yes, a resident ghost or two. (The Lodge is famously haunted, which only adds to its appeal as far as I’m concerned.)
Because of our late arrival, dinner reservations were a little rushed and hectic — but everyone got fed, everyone got settled, and there was still plenty of time to explore the hotel, the grounds, and the gorgeous lobby. It’s the kind of place where you just want to sit by the fire and soak it in.
Thanksgiving Morning: White Sands National Monument
Since our Thanksgiving dinner wasn’t until 3pm, Sun Tours had planned a morning excursion to White Sands National Monument. Great idea. In theory.
A few guests had mentioned it might be closed for the holiday. I, as a trusting tour director, assumed that Sun Tours would absolutely have checked whether a National Monument would be closed on Thanksgiving before building it into the itinerary.
The guests were right. I was wrong.
We pulled up with a full busload of excited guests ready to walk the dunes, and couldn’t even get into the parking lot. You can barely see white sand from the entrance. It was closed. Completely.
We did find a safe spot nearby where guests could disembark, and about a dozen of them walked in on foot — a quarter mile to the nearest dune viewpoint — since pedestrians were allowed even when the park was officially closed to vehicles. The rest of us waited on the bus.
And here’s where Sun Tours saved the day: anticipating that the time between breakfast and a 3pm Thanksgiving dinner might feel a little long, they had planned a cheese and crackers with wine stop — originally intended to happen at White Sands just before we left.
So there we sat in the parking lot, the monument closed behind us, corks popping, cheese being passed around, and suddenly nobody cared one bit that we hadn’t seen a single sand dune. In fact, it became one of the most memorable moments of the trip.
Thanksgiving Dinner at The Lodge
Dinner was everything Thanksgiving dinner should be. A beautiful buffet with all the classics — turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry, pies — plus enough variety to make sure even the pickiest guest found something to love. The Lodge dining room is stunning, the service was warm, and the food was genuinely delicious.
What else is there to say? Sometimes things are just good, and this was one of those times.
Friday: Heading Home from the Tour
Two nights goes fast. Friday morning we checked out of the Lodge and started the drive back to Albuquerque — with two great stops along the way.
Heart of the Desert Pistachio Farm & Winery — Alamogordo, New Mexico
Our first stop was Heart of the Desert — a working pistachio farm and winery in Alamogordo, New Mexico, also known as Eagle Ranch Pistachios. New Mexico is actually one of the top pistachio-producing states in the country, and this family-owned operation is one of the best.
The guided tour walked us through the entire process — from orchard to finished product — and I learned more about pistachios in an hour than I had in my entire life. Did you know pistachios are actually related to mangoes and cashews? Or that it can take a pistachio tree up to 20 years to reach full production? The farm uses an elaborate harvesting and sorting process, and we got to see the production facility up close — including the hand-sorting tables where workers inspect and sort every nut by hand.
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument — Mountainair, New Mexico
After a lovely catered lunch in Mountainair, our second stop home on the Thanksgiving Motorcoach Tour was Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument — and this one genuinely surprised me.
I grew up in New Mexico. I’ve lived here most of my life. And somehow I had never heard of this place.
The Salinas Pueblo Missions preserve the ruins of three 17th-century Spanish colonial missions, built by Franciscan friars on top of existing Pueblo communities. The site we visited — Quarai — features the remarkably preserved ruins of the Mission La Purísima Concepción, a massive stone church built in the 1620s that still stands over 40 feet tall. The contrast between the red sandstone ruins and the brilliant blue New Mexico sky makes for some truly stunning photos.
The monument tells a complicated, layered story — of Pueblo people who lived here for centuries, of Spanish colonizers who forced them to build these massive churches, and ultimately of a community that was abandoned in the late 1600s due to drought, disease, and raids. It’s the kind of place that makes you slow down and think.
We started with the visitor center in town, then headed out to the monument itself. The weather was absolutely beautiful, and it was the perfect opportunity to stretch our legs after a day on the coach.
The Ride Home : Caroling on the Bus
With Thanksgiving officially behind us and Christmas in the air, I decided to go for it. I printed out lyrics to about a dozen Christmas songs, handed them out, and hoped for the best.
I shouldn’t have worried. A handful of guests jumped right in and led the charge, and within a few minutes we had a full-on motorcoach caroling session going on the highway back to Albuquerque. Honestly one of my favorite moments of the whole trip.
Final Thoughts for the Motorcoach Tour
This was a short trip — just two nights — but it packed in a remarkable amount of experience. Spaceport America is genuinely one of the coolest things in New Mexico and worth a visit on its own. The Lodge at Cloudcroft is special. The Pistachio Farm is a hidden gem. And Salinas Pueblo Missions is the kind of place that reminds you how much history is hiding just off the highway.
And if a National Monument happens to be closed when you get there? Open the wine. Make the best of it. Sometimes the unplanned moments are the ones you remember most.
If you’re looking for a different kind of Thanksgiving — or just a great New Mexico road trip itinerary — I’d put this route on your list.
Have you been to any of these spots? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Interested in motorcoach tours through Sun Tours? Check them out — they really do think of everything. (Except checking park hours. But we forgave them.)