White Sands National Monument

As I sit in San Antonio, Texas, snuggled up in my comfy RV engulfed in a deluge of never ending rain (it’s finally easing up), I’m given the perfect opportunity to get the blog caught up with our travels. I admire those of you who are able to keep your blogs updated while traveling all the while engaging in the sights and sounds of new territory. That’s not me… as usual, I’m over a week behind 😉

The sands of time; so as time seems to get away from me, what better time to talk about sand dunes…..

Rising from the Tularosa Basin near Alamogordo, New Mexico, sits the largest gypsum dune field in the world – 275 square miles of glistening brilliant white sand aptly named White Sands National Monument.

We entered the monument from the east. As we continued driving the 8 mile scenic road west, the dunes increased in size; some of which are over 50 feet tall. The vegetation also gets sparser the further west we traveled along with changing sand grains. At the eastern edge the sand grains are very small and round while to the west the sand grains become larger and consist of different shapes. To categorize this place as unique is an understatement.

Al and I climb a sand dune and then another. A child like exuberance comes over me. I try making a snow angel and then I pretend I’m walking on the moon. A couple of kids in the distance are sledding. Yep, sledding on sand! You can even bring pooch – leashed of course, which is so unusual since dogs aren’t normally allowed on trails in National Parks or Monuments.

White Sands Alamogordo New Mexico — A walk on the moon?

And think pooches paws will be bothered by the hot sand? Think again. Gypsum does not convert the sun’s energy into heat and thus the sand can be walked on with bare feet even during the hottest of summer months.

Al and I are awed by the raw untapped beauty. The vision leaves us speechless and we decide to find a place to sit and watch the sun set. As the sun lowers, we watch a film crew from South America do a photo shoot. Boy, I’d love to see the finished photos of that shoot.

photo shoot in national Park — a professional photo shoot

Strong southwest winds keep the dunes in a constant state of change. They grow, crest, then slump but always advance. We lucked out with sustained winds of only 5 to 10 miles per hour, allowing us to enjoy a beautiful sunset.I’m very glad the weather cooperated and our schedule finally allowed us to take in the White Sands National Monument. It was so worth our time. 🐫

Emsco Snow Monster Disc Heavy Duty 26 ” Dia Plastic
Simplicity Pink Scarf with Cute Butterflies in Soft Colors, Fringed Ends

Today’s drive was an easy 2 1/2 hour drive from Deming, New Mexico to Alamogordo NM. However, I wouldn’t categorize it as uneventful. Al has chosen to allow Hildi to do the navigating. Not wanting to get into an argument and second guess the wench, I leave the atlas in the backseat and leave the navigating to her.

For those of you new to the blog and not sure who Hildi is you can click here for her story.

We leave Rockhound State Park in Deming, New Mexico, and continue on Interstate 10 toward the city of Las Cruces.

Hildi has us exit the interstate in Las Cruces and pick up Highway 70 where we encounter plenty of stop lights and road construction. Way to go Hildi! Finally we get around the city and we’re headed toward Alamogordo. Traffic is light, winds are calm, and it’s a beautiful sunny day.

I can see tuffs of white sand dunes off in the distance. Ooh, my excitement starts to build with anticipation as we get closer to a place I’ve wanted to visit for a very long time. What’s this? We need to stop?Why do these stops always make me nervous? We watch the dog get a little excited around the mini van pictured top right and the driver was told to pull over into that spot. Hmm, wonder what the little doggie smelled. I nervously watch the dog as he quickly moves down the line totally uninterested in us or the RV. Thank goodness. After all, we have Colorado license plates (some places assume since the use of marijuana is legal in the state of Colorado, anyone with Colorado plates is in possession…. not cool).

We pull up to a guard and are asked if we are U.S. citizens? We respond, “yes” and are waved on. Thank goodness hubby kept his sense of humor in check and didn’t respond with a “Si, Señor”. I sure would NOT want to find out exactly what kind of sense of humor these border patrol guys have.

After the inconvenient stop, we continue our journey and it isn’t long before Hildi has us making a right onto highway 54. So far so good, but then she has us turn left a little too soon in my opinion. There’s no brown sign noting Oliver Lee Memorial State Park and although paved, the road looks narrow – not what you would expect for regular state park traffic. I recommend we not turn and that we shouldn’t trust Hildi.

Garmin GPS — Are you sure you want to trust Hildi?

Al turns. We continue down this little residential street and when it ends Hildi has us turn right…. right onto a gravel road. Mind you, we’ve traveled on rougher roads, but this is not what Al or I expected.

We eventually make it to our destination: Oliver Lee Memorial State Park. We’re a little dustier and dirtier but no worse for the wear. We get settled into an electric/water site with the help of our Lego leveling blocks.