White Sands National Monument

Yesterday morning was a lay-back morning for a while.  Did a little computer work, had breakfast and then Merv and I headed up to White Sand National Monument.  Had a nice drive as the weather was good and light traffic once out of Las Cruces.

Checking in at the entrance station (those National Park Senior Passes are great).  Explored the "White Sands" of the park.  The "white sands" really are dunes of gypsum. Unusual stuff to walk or climb on.  While like snow, but you do not sink into it like a snow drift.  Try to climb the dune, the gypsum move under your feed, to its "two steps up and 1 1/2 step down.  Here's a photo of me on a dune.

While we were there these was a wedding on the board walk at the Monument.  Different place to hold a wedding.  And it was a little chilly. While it was sunny (times of "filtered sun", the temperature was only about 30 degrees.  We had watched the temperature drop in the car thermometer driving up to the park.

We walked a little on a marked trail in the dunes and walked the "boardwalk" nature trail.  My knee felt petty good. Starting on the boardwalk i was not sure how I would be go, but ended up walking to the end and back.

Stopped at the Visitor's Center on the way out.  Piked up a cople book.  A book of the monument, a book about a well known couple the disappeared at the Monument, and a book about the ghost towns of New Mexico.  Then it was time for food.  Went into Alamogordo for lunch. Gad a good lunch at La Hacienda Cafe on White Sands Blvd.

On the drive back to Las Cruces, I commented that i did not realize how far out to the Monument.  The time flew by as the two of us seemed to solve half of the country's problems inosr conversation! In the morning, Merv and I had planned to take bicycles to pedal into the old town of Masilla (about a mile).  We were a bit too tired, and Sue joined up.  Took at couple photos of the plaza and a couple of the mountains as the sun sut.  The sunset was not as dramatic as it normally is.

The evening ended with a pizza dinner - great local pizza - watched the new, and chatted until we were all ready to sleep.

Lower photo is of the Basilica of San Albino on the plaza of old town Misilla, New Mexico.  Today, its load the car, and head North to Albuquerque.  Planning to stop at two ghost towns to explore on the way.