When we first were coming into Alamogordo, NM we saw an area far off in the distance that was shining brilliant white. Our first thought was “oh no, snow!” Turns out it was just the White Sands dunes.
The White Sands, located in the Tularosa Basin, cover 275 square miles of desert and it one of the world’s great natural wonders. It is a rare form of sand, made up of gypsum. Gypsum is water soluble and rivers generally carry the dissolved gypsum to the sea. However the Tularosa Basin is not drained by any river and along with other sediments the gypsum is trapped in the basin forming the dunes.
It wasn’t an overly warm day temperature wise but with the intensity of the sun in this region made it feel warm. There were about 2000 Boy Scouts in the park, but with the enormity of the dunes you wouldn’t have known they were there.
We found a parking area all our own despite it being a Saturday with lots of people in the park.
Sophie wasn’t sure what to make of the “sand” that looked like snow.
But she soon found out there weren’t any “prickers” to get stuck in her feet and she was off and running.
Up the dunes and down the dunes.
And again, up a dune and down a dune. We think she REALLY likes this RV lifestyle.
We sat for a while and just took in the sights. I of course had to make a “snow angel” in the sand.
And I had to try “sledding” down the hill, which didn’t quite work without some sort of a sled.
Hmm, should have bought one of those plastic disks at the gift shop. You know the kind our kids used?
After we left the dunes we went on a scenic drive up to the Solar Observatory. Guess what we found? Snow.
We got back home just as the moon was coming up. A good end to a great day.
