White Sands NP

We left Guadalupe and headed towards White Sands NP. We didn't bother to make coffee or breakfast and instead, stopped in the La Mesilla area of Los Cruces. We stopped in the old town area where we had breakfast at Cafe de Mesilla, a cute little place frequented by locals. We both had omelettes that were delicious. After that we walked around the old town square mostly window shopping, but we did buy some tea.

We continued on to White Sands NP. White Sands is a small park and a few hours is all that is needed to visit. After a stop at the visitor center we drive to a trail head. The 1 mile trail went around a sand dune with some signage giving information about the things that live there. The trails are marked with colored poles. People are cautioned to make sure they can see the next post as it is easy to get lost on the dunes. From there we drove the almost 2 mile road through the park passing picnic areas and other trail heads. We stopped at one place where there were some people. Some people were flying kites (great idea!), and others were sand sledding. You can rent sleds from the gift shop. The sleds weren't going all that well. The conditions need to be just right to get a good slide.

The dunes are not that high as they are ever changing. The dunes are created from gypsum. The gypsum is in the rocks making up the mountains around the valley. The water wears away the gypsum carrying then to the valley below where a lake is formed during the rainy season. When the lake dries up, the gypsum gets eroded and carried by the wind forming the dunes. The winds continue to move the sands causing the ever changing dunes.

We left there and headed to the Valley of Fires Recreation Area where we were camping. It is a Bureau of Land Management Area. Asking the way we passed through the town of Alamogordo where there is the world largest pistachio! We stopped for a picture and bought pistachios. We stopped in the town of Carrizozo and ate at Rosey's Pizza and then went to our campsite at the Valley of Fires Recreation Area. There we caught a gorgeous sunset.Read more