Wednesday we had to take a trip out to Holloman AFB to pick up some paperwork, and since the Monument is just a few miles down the road, we thought we'd take it in.
The White Sands National Monument is located in southern New Mexico, between Las Cruces and Alamogordo. The Monument encompasses a large portion of the 275 Sq Miles of pure white gypsum dunes. The dunes average 30-40 in height and are always moving.
The Monument has several walking and hiking trails, one of which is a boardwalk, for those who do not wish to walk in the sand.
The dunes are so white, if your are walking in them the landscape all blends together and sometimes you can not even see the dunes or tell where they begin and drop off, quite the illusion.
There is also a 8 mile loop road through the monument, you can see it is very defined, due to the constant plowing of the shifting sands.
We didn't spend a whole lot of time there, as there isn't really a lot to see (other than the dunes) and it really dosn't take long to see. That being said, it is a very beautiful place and otherworldly place, well worth a stop if you find yourself in the southern New Mexico area. If you would like more info n the Monument you can find visit their web site here:
White Sands National Monument
It was a great day for sightseeing with perfect temps (love autumn in the desert). We still have a couple more adventures here in southern New Mexico, so stay tuned and we'll see you then.
3 comments:
LOVE that spot in NM. Such cool shots!
Nina
Back in 1973 (when you were a small kid) to celebrate graduating from high school, I did a cross country trip on my motorcycle.
I went past White Sands and a missle launched, scared me so bad I almost fell off my bike.
Looking forward one of these days to take my two grandsons to WS, I'm sure they'd enjoy surfing down those dunes.
Thanks Nina
Paul, Not that little, was only 3 years behind you, Class of "76"
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