thank you for a wonderful stay arizona it is on to new mexico
all right i have arrived to my campsite just outside of alamogordo new mexico not too far
from white sands national park i'm at a blm site which stands for bureau of land management and it
is free it is our public lands i think this is the first time i've been to the state of new mexico
and the reason that i say i think is because i traveled cross country several times as a child
my dad was born and raised in virginia so he's from the south and i have a lot of relatives
in the south so as a child i made a couple of trips cross country which actually solidified my
love of the road trip however i don't know if i ever came through new mexico i don't remember
coming through i think we were up a little further north whatever highway we took so this
is all new it's very exciting i'm really stoked to be here i'm stoked to check out white sands
national park that will be tomorrow's adventure but for the rest of the day
today i'm just going to go ahead and relax it was a lot of driving driving makes me tired i
don't know about you so i will chill and be rested and fresh for tomorrow's adventure
so
good morning it is time to explore white sands national park
it was recently designated a national park prior to that
it was a national monument and it's been on my radar for a long time so i'm excited
approximately 12 000 years ago the land within the tularosa basin featured large lakes
streams grasslands and ice age mammals as a climate warmed rain and snow melt
dissolved gypsum from the surrounding mountains and carried it into the basin
it almost appears as if i'm standing on snow my lips are frozen it is beautiful here but it is
quite chilly and with this windchill factor my face is a little bit frozen really really pretty
this gypsum dune field is the largest of its kind on earth with a depth of about 30 feet
dunes as tall as 60 feet and about 4.5 billion short tons of gypsum sand
it is so peaceful out here it has warmed up a bit and i'm sure that's only because
i've been trudging around in the sand if you want a good workout trudge around in the sand
for a couple hours it is really stunning here these cloud formations are amazing
i actually picked this day to come here because i knew it was going to be partly cloudy and i think
that adds a lot of interest i would definitely recommend wearing gators which i did not do
to keep the sand out of your shoes we'll be emptying my shoes in just a moment
here
now
what an awesome hike i definitely worked up an appetite so it's time to make myself
a little lunch here in the camper the alkali flats trail is anything but flat
it is five miles of lots of bumps and hills and slogging through sand but it is most definitely
worth it it's absolutely beautiful i highly recommend it couple things to note is this is
very nearby the white sands missile range so at the trail head they do warn you that if you see
any strange objects on the ground do not pick them up because these missiles tend to drop things in
the sand which i found interesting also they warn you that the missile range could affect your gps
signals so do not rely on your gps and the way that you find your way uh through this trail
is there are post staggered throughout so you have to keep your eye out for those posts
but my gps worked just fine i did have the map downloaded uh but probably bring a map
and i definitely have a compass just in case anyhow yeah if you get a chance to check it out
i would recommend it time for some lunch a fresh and crisp post-hike lunch
you