From Carlsbad to Las Cruces

The flat, brown, dry landscape outside Carlsbad

Then you start going up into the mountains. Not only did the trees change, but there is a ski area outside Alomagordo.

Next you go through a canyon, which includes a tunnel through the mountain.

At one point you get to see the White Sands National Monument. It sticks out like a sore thumb being white in a sea of brown.