Return to White Sands National Monument

Alamogordo, NM (52 high 27 low)

"get out of your car and crawl in the sand, 

and experience what nature has to offer,

you might be surprised at what you find"

Edward Abbey 

Desert Solitaire

(This post is a rewind. I'm behind in posting and this took place over the Thanksgiving holiday)

I read Edward Abbey's book in my 20's and this quote had a powerful affect upon me. He lamented oftentimes how people never got out of their car when traveling and would only peer through the windshield. I used this quote to thank the folks who joined me on the Sunset Stroll while I was volunteering at White Sands National Monument. To truly experience this dazzling and unusual place getting out of your car is essential.  

We volunteered here for a few months in 2011. It was our first volunteer position with a National Park and it's a very special place. This Thanksgiving while volunteering at Bosque del Apache NWR, our friends who originally helped us get this position invited us to Thanksgiving dinner at their home in Alamogordo.  Eileen and John so love it here and returned often to volunteer at White Sands whenever possible. They have now gotten off the road this year and have bought a beautiful home nearby. 

We stopped at White Sands National Monument prior to seeing them and got out of car and retraced the route I used to take with the Sunset Stroll. This was a free program offered by White Sands and is very popular. I would describe about how the gypsum sand dunes are created and tell about the plants and animals which call this place their home. The beautiful sands have shifted but much of the trail still remains the same. Jimmy joined us too and we quietly took in the beauty as we hiked the route.  

These beautiful wave like gypsum sand dunes encompass a 275 square miles in the Tulorosa basin. Some of the dunes are massive and we saw lots of people sliding down them in saucers you can rent at the gift shop. 

This is a photo of me giving my talk in 2011. This yucca is still there and it's the same one with Jimmy standing nearby at the top of the post. I look so official in this shot. :)

Below is a structure which is home to many of the nocturnal creatures. It's not as green or as healthy as before but still is holding up. 

Now

Then (2011)

We had a wonderful and tasty Thanksgiving dinner at Eileen and John's new home the next day. Our friends Fran and Randy were there too. All of us originally met at a NOMADS project in Eustis Florida when we first started fulltiming. We have remained friends ever since. Eileen and John seem to really enjoy living in their new home and love all the additional space. It was great to see them and a wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving surrounded by friends. 

Front (Eileen, Fran, and John) Back (John and Randy)

We  hope you had a good time over the holidays too.

Stop by again soon to see our next post about a visit with Fran and Randy to the Salinas Pueblo Missions. 

If you are interested in reading some of my posts written during our volunteering at White Sands click here or for another post when we had the whole park to ourselves because of a snowfall click here.