3 Mar 2019
This morning we headed east about 35 miles on Hwy 70 to the White Sands National Monument. We arrived at the visitor center which is located in a Pueblo-adobe style building, created during the Great Depression.
Inside we found various interpretive displays, a gift shop and an orientation film. Unfortunately it only plays every couple hours and we missed the start.
The visitor center was full of hands-on displays and very educational especially for children.
From there we drove to the fee station, presented our Access Pass and received a map through the dunes area. The first five miles of the trail are paved and the last three miles are hard-packed gypsum sand.
We drove down the trail and stopped at the 'Dune Life Nature Trail'.
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| A one mile loop along a nature trail. |
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| The trail starts with hard-packed gypsum sand that leads up to the base of the dunes |
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As we climbed the dunes, the sand was no longer hard-packed.
The shaded sand was surprisingly very cool on the toes. |
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| The sandstone walls give way to the touch |
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| Miles and miles of pure white gypsum sand |
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| Displays along the way show local critters and what they eat |
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| Most of the vegetation is very dry and brittle |
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| Sleds are available at the visitor center and you can ride down the dunes like snow! |
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| The wind creates ripples in the sand. |
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| More sandstone walls |
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| Some green in the middle of the sand! |
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| The trail leading to the parking lot. Not all of the areas are sand |
From the Nature Trail we drove past the end of the pavement to another access point. We climbed quite a ways up on top of the dunes and the view was incredible!
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| This family was having a picnic on top of the dunes! |
We can only imagine how hot this place would be in the middle of the summer. We are glad we visited this time of the year.
When we left to drive out of the park the truck reported a 'service required' message on the electronic vehicle information center, so we will contact our dealership in the morning to see if this is urgent or can be held until we return home.
One final mountain picture from this morning! Awesome!
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