As we traveled across the southern part of New Mexico, we made a stop in Alamogordo and took a trip to White Sands National Monument.
The dunes are constantly shifting, so the hiking trails are marked with stakes. The walking can be deep at times!
The sand is sugary fine - it is gypsum sand, rarely found because it is soluble in water. Rain & snow dissolve the gypsum in the mountains and carry it to the Tularosa Basin. Because there is no river that drains the Tularosa Basin, it stays in the form of crystal beds that through freezing/thawing & wetting/drying break down into sand particles light enough to be carried by the wind.
They have to plow the sand off of the roads!
Somehow the plants and animals have adapted to live in the ever moving white dunes. We didn't see much for wildlife, but some of the lizards, rodents and insects have adapted their coloring over time, so at White Sands they are nearly as white as the sand!
Plus, it has one of the cutest visitor centers ever.
Alamogordo is also known for its pistachio & pecan production and it has two wineries (plus another winery just north of them in Tularosa).
Ron & I at the world's largest pistachio!
The RV park we stayed at had pistachio, almond & pecan trees. The owner invited us to gather as many pecans as we wanted. How fun was that! The other nut trees were past their picking season, but we came out of there with about 25 pounds of delicious pecans!
Changing weather (yes, winter was finally coming to New Mexico) sent us skedaddling south. We arrived at our home for the next month just outside of Deming. Looking forward to exploring the area & spending Christmas eve with our kids.
More about that to come!
I heard this is what Santa uses in the desert!
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