Have you ever visited a place that is strikingly white everywhere you turn? White Sands National Park in New Mexico is just such a place. But I had the privilege to witness it both in storms and in sun.
White Sands National Park was a National Monument for 86 years, and was designated a National Park in 2019. It protects the world’s largest gypsum dune field, with its 275-square-miles of glistening wave-like dunes of white gypsum sand and unique plant and animal life.
Interesting that gypsum is actually selenite crystals that have been broken down by wind and weather. Selenite is the crystalline form of gypsum, formed when gypsum is dissolved in water and the water evaporates. Selenite crystals are brittle, fragile and easily eroded.
White Sands also has the world’s largest collection of ice-age fossilized foot prints. The first prehistoric tracks were discovered in 1932.
When I arrived at Alamogordo, New Mexico, expecting to visit the nearby White Sands National Park the next day my car decided it needed a break. I parked, went in the motel to get a room for the night and when I returned to the car to move it closer to my room, it wouldn’t start! Nothing. Clicking was all I heard as I turned the key. I couldn’t tell if it was the battery, alternator or the starter. Let’s face it, I have been working the car hard and it has been handling all the different terrains, temperatures and long drives well, and gave me no problems until then.
To my surprise, the car started up the next morning, so I went straight to O’Reilly Auto Parts to have the battery tested. It was the battery, though it wasn’t completely dead, it was on it’s way out. An easy fix!
It was raining so I booked one more night thinking I would traipse the sand dunes when the sand was dryer. Then the sun came out, beckoning me to White Sands and it was raining hard when i got there. I drove through the park, barely able to see the road when the pavement ended and the sand began. Between the white road against white dunes and water drops on the windshield, it was hard to discern where to drive. It slowed to a drizzle, opening up the opportunity to see the vast dunes and the mountains in the distance. The storms around the desert and wind bringing clouds over the surrounding mountains was spellbinding!
Stepping out of the car for a short walk on a trail as I was leaving the park, the sounds of the storms and the nearby planes echoed through the desert. The rain had pretty much stopped, but the wind and storms were still there. Looking back toward the mountains, the clouds flowed over and down like a waterfall, covering them in a blanket of white. I had never seen anything quite like it!
I had to go back the next day to hike the dunes and see the sun glistening off the sand. People were sledding down the dunes, setting up picnics, hiking and driving through the park.
