State #1: New Mexico

The Land of Enchantment

• Motto: Crescit Eundo - “It grows as it goes”

• Flower: Yucca

• Animal: Black Bear

• Bird: Roadrunner

• Fun Fact: White Sands is the largest gypsum dunefield in the world (amazing to see in person!)

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What We Did in New Mexico (August 2025)

1. Hike the dunes at White Sands National Park

The sand felt cool, and it didn’t stick like beach sand🤔, and looked almost like snow. #1 Bucket List thing to do in New Mexico!

2. Visit the World’s Largest Pistachio

This was a fun unexpected mini stop. The best thing was the Pistachio Ice cream!

3. Explore Roswell

Alien McDonald’s? We explored downtown and even found a few lemon treats from UFO Fizz!

4. Sleep for free in Ruidoso

We slept for free at the Walmart in town. Quiet. Nice. We watched the sunset here.

State #1 of 50 🍋 The Lemon Route

We’re Bob and Hillary from Vancaskeys, two regular people chasing a big dream in a Class B van named Mr. Lemon. The Lemon Route is our attempt to visit all 50 states, find the stories along the way, and figure out if this leap of faith becomes the adventure of a lifetime… or a terrible financial decision. Watch the Episode: →

New Mexico was the best place to start The Lemon Route. It gave us otherworldly landscapes, quirky roadside stops, aliens, lemon candy, and a free night in the mountains (at a walmart) State #1 is officially unlocked and if this is how the journey starts, we have a feeling the road ahead is going to be anything but boring.