White Sands National Monument is beyond amazing. Yes, it’s a giant sandbox that totally dwarfs the toy front end loader that someone left behind. With Paul, as our local guide, we stopped at the visitor center then drove out beyond the end of the asphalt road to the Alkali Flat Trail and proceeded on foot to explore the area. The trail is marked by red posts and the only way to stay on the “trail” is to keep the next red post in sight. The bright white gypsum sand is constantly shifting with the wind. This park is 275 square miles of white sand dunes that are always on the move. It’s an exciting place to explore, to go sand sledding. Alas, we had no sled with us but got to watch others experience the exhilaration of zooming down the dune! The temperature on the day of our visit was moderate and it had recently rained but we can well imagine how easy it could be to get lost on a blisteringly hot day on sands that shift underfoot and the where the scenery looks the same in every direction. It’s simultaneously very inviting and very forbidding!
From there we made a trip up US-82 to the High Rolls General Store where we got a bit of refreshment, then back down to near Cloudcroft for some amazing views of the valley and of White Sands before returning to Las Cruces and a rendezvous with Beth for dinner at the local Dairy Queen.
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