outdoors

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

If you're not a fan of scorpions, black widow spiders, and rattlesnakes, think twice before pitching your tent on the ground in this park. If you're down for an unconventional, free stay, you can make Carlsbad work. We found a campsite on the side of a public dirt road on the top of a rocky, cactus covered hill where we found all sorts of poisonous critters. We were out of money, daylight, and energy to go anywhere else so we cracked our beers and made the best of it. This place is sweltering hot in the summer, and I'd only recommend it if you need a cheap last resort. We spent the majority of our time playing cards in the back of the truck so the creepy crawlers wouldn't befriend us.