White Sands National Monument

Hot. Hot and sandy. Well, what did you expect, it’s the White Sands park in the south of New Mexico! Rolling rows of blindingly white dunes, made of some of the finest-grained sand I’ve seen. They say it’s gypsum, I say I don’t discriminate.

Pictures here: https://goo.gl/photos/uivqoiEmjd4BemfK8

Our day trip began with a drive to UPS at Las Cruces, where we had to pick up a package, followed by what’s become lately a mandatory stop at Walmart. Now, I must confess that I’ve started to use Wally’s not only as a shopping place, but also as a window into the soul of the country and a social parlor. You will find all kinds of people there, mainly lower income and middle class, which is the stigma associated with the chain, but there also quite a few fancy cars parked in front. In New Mexico, that would be pimped up pickup trucks with a raised suspension and tinted windows, in contrast to the East Coast, where it’s mostly Japanese and German luxury brands. But I digress. After a pleasant and quite lengthy chat with an aging gay employee, I had to come to terms with the fact that Walmart doesn’t carry everything I need and that are other stores too. At this point, I won’t remove any stars from my rating of the store, but you better watch it, Wally’s!

Back to the White Sands. It’s an 8 mile drive loop, unfortunately a lot of the pull-over points were closed. Nonetheless, it’s a fun drive, as the asphalt ends at some point and then one rolls onto a white river of packed sand. We stopped at a bunch of places and the kids had the time of their lives running up the sand dunes and then rolling downhill, head over heels. As the evening progressed, we witnessed a majestic sunset against the backdrop of the mountains – the park is in the Tularosa basin, ringed by mountains – everything bathed in gold, pink and purple. A full moon started to emerge from behind the mountains and the dunes started glowing in the moonlight. Spoiler: at this point, we were promptly directed to leave the park, as it closes at 7pm this time of the year. Really, people? For what, “safety reasons”? Perhaps also due to safety, no alcohol is allowed in the park b/w April and May. Why only these two months is beyond me, if you’ve got any ideas feel free to comment… Good thing we’re in October, as my fridge is stocked.

After all this, we couldn’t help it but go back again today. More rolling downhill, more sun and lots of sunscreen.

Once again pack up and hit the road. Destination: Brantley Lake State park, NM, where I am writing this in the company of a large population of wild rabbits, large and small. It’s blowing hard, at least 15–20 mph and I wish my friend Pavel was here, with his kite surf, of course. And s***t, the wind just spilled my wine, gotta go!

Tomorrow: destination unknown.

Pictures here: https://goo.gl/photos/uivqoiEmjd4BemfK8