White Sands National Monument

Our last stop on the April road trip was White Sands National Monument. We stayed in Alamogordo which is a town that looks like it has hit hard times.  It's about 30 minutes from the park. Next time, I might try staying in Las Cruces.

This was by far the kids favorite stop. We borrowed the Jr. Ranger backpacks & headed out an a mile "hike."

The kids took turns reading the signs about the flora & fauna along the way.

The sand dunes reminded us of our favorite beaches in Montauk. But, there is no ocean here.

The dunes are made of gypsum which is water soluble. Normally, rain would wash away the dunes.

According to wikipedia, "The Tularosa Basin is enclosed, meaning that it has no outlet to the sea and that rain that dissolves gypsum from the surrounding San Andres and Sacramento Mountains is trapped within the basin. Thus water either sinks into the ground or forms shallow pools which subsequently dry out and leave gypsum in a crystalline form, called selenite, on the surface. Groundwater that does flow out of the Tularosa Basin flows south into the Hueco Basin."

The kids were anxious to start sledding, so we hit the slopes. You can buy wax for the sleds & "rent" sleds in the gift shop. I think it was $15 to buy the sled or $10 to rent it.

The kids never gained that much speed, but they spent hours playing on the hills. The winds in the area created the dunes, so there was always a nice breeze.

Greta eventually gave up on sledding & enjoyed the kite flying.

Eventually, everyone got hungry. We didn't have time to go into town, so we grabbed some snacks at the gift shop & headed back to do a sunset stroll with the rangers.

The kids loved hiking in the sand. I thought we were lucky to be there in spring when the sand was cool, but according to wikipedia, unlike the beach, this sand never gets that hot.

We enjoyed watching the changing colors as the sun started to set.

I can't remember what animal droppings Charlie almost stepped on, but the ranger pointed out water holes that the animals find.

I think we spent nearly 8 hours at the park & the kids would have stayed longer.

It is such a beautiful place. I am so glad we made the trip.

I know Nick was disappointed that he couldn't take off from work to join us.

If we make our way to Southern New Mexico again, I know the kids wouldn't mind spending another day or two at the greatest sandbox ever!