Snowy Desert

The mountains near Carlsbad Caverns were just a taste of what New Mexico had to offer.  On the way to Alamogordo Chris and Jay crossed over the Sacramento Mountains, whose 8,000 plus foot height peaks rivaled the Rockies.  Tall conifers replaced desert scrub and they were sure that the mountain top town of Cloudcroft existed solely to support a nearby ski resort where patches of snow were still visible on the second day of March.

The day’s journey was the first test for Big Red to haul Sonny up and down steep inclines.  Although Chris and Jay’s pucker factor was about an 8 on the way down the 6% slope, Big Red’s engine kept the rate of descent a consistent 45 mph and the brakes were pressed into occasional service to keep the twelve ton load under control around hairpin turns.

The mountains parted revealing a view of the valley below and Chris thought she saw clouds between them and the distant peaks.  In reality it was the pure white, rolling terrain of their destination – White Sands National Monument.   Chris squirmed in her seat at the anticipation of their visit.

A glimpse of the mountains they drove through.

White Sands is the thin band of white in the center left of the photo.

They started the trip relying solely on their trusty GPS which had done a stellar job of guiding them across the country thus far.  Jay had even printed directions from the Google Maps site as a backup and both directed them to the same entrance to Holloman Air Force Base where they would be camping.  Doubt as to their validity began to cloud the traveler’s minds as the GPS led them north, through a residential area and down a long, straight road terminating at a suspiciously militant looking gate topped with barbed wire.  A similarly crested fence stretched miles to either side and the guard building, Restricted Area signs and lack of life forms greeting them were clear indications that this was not the correct entry point.  Numerous others had made the same error and a wide area in the road enabled Jay to reverse direction.  Chris plugged in the correct gate’s street name into the GPS and in a short time they were settled in for the night.

Chris and Jay learned a valuable lesson during their stay: When the weather is good, go exploring.  The first day was a beautiful, warm, cloudless day with a soft breeze and, as predicted and expecting the rest of the week to be likewise, they hung around the trailer and caught up on personal affairs.  Although a bit windier than they preferred and expecting the rest of the week to be no worse, the next two afternoons were spent at White Sands scouting the area and taking a few photographs.   Then the wind started.

These dunes near the entrance of the Park are only about twenty feet tall.

Holloman AFB and the White Sands National Monument are located just outside of Alamogordo, New Mexico in a perfectly flat, fifty mile wide valley between the Sacramento and San Andres Mountains.  The lack of vegetation above knee height allows the southern winds to howl through the valley completely unobstructed, picking up speed as the day warms.  Dust, the consistency of baby powder, is propelled at tropical storm velocity permeating minute cracks and crevices and sandblasting all in its path.  Sunday’s wind was the worst.  For most of the day the view of a concrete block wall less than two hundred feet away was completely obliterated.   Sonny shuddered and creaked as the frame flexed against the pressure and tearing of the awnings covering the slides was a concern. 

The tempest gradually abated to the 20 mph range over Monday and Tuesday, but the conditions stalled all further photographing at the dunes and delayed their departure to the Gila Cliff Dwellings from Tuesday to Wednesday.

Everything happens for a reason and the gale descending upon them at that particular time was no exception.  Jay’s back was causing him problems and climbing sixty-foot high dunes was out of the question.   Chris provided therapy and he spent most of the day in bed, on his back, watching a day-long series of Indiana Jones movies.  To his surprise, a security gate scene in the, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, looked identical to the Restricted Area gate they’d encountered just days before.  Funny how those things happen.

Despite the troubles, the dunes were extraordinary.  Engulfing 275 square miles of the desert valley, they range in size from a dusting on the ground to over 60 feet tall and are the largest gypsum dune field in the world.  During the rainy season, the gypsum is washed down from the mountains into Lake Lucero at the southwest corner of the dune field.  As the lake dries the gypsum crystallizes creating an alkali flat.  Environmental conditions of freezing and thawing and wetting and drying break down the crystals and the strong winds tumble the sand-sized particles scratching them into the snowy white sands of the dunes.

The graphical nature of the mounds, ripples, ridges and hollows are breathtakingly beautiful and the two days Chris and Jay spent exploring them just scratched the surface of what she’d like to capture.  A return when the plants are greener and in bloom is a must-do item on their travel agenda. 

A glimpse of what Chris found on the dunes.

The shadows were so soft and flowing.

In such a dry, desolate area one would not expect much more than the occasional patch of grass or scrub bush to grow but the valley is home to McGinn’s Pistachio Tree Ranch and Arena Blanca Winery.   Huge trees, mimicking a battalion at attention, covered hundreds of acres of the dusty, brown terrain and vineyards filled the spaces in between.  Miles of pipes provided drip irrigation to sustain life through the dusty, dry winters.

Jay’s back improved enough by their last day in the area to enable an afternoon jaunt to the nearby Three Rivers Petroglyph Recreational Area about 30 miles to the north.  The stop was recommended to them by a volunteer at the White Sands Visitor Center who impressed the importance of arriving when the sun was low on the horizon for the best viewing of the prehistoric carvings.  Chris and Jay got a late start and were wondering, with the price of fuel nearing $4 per gallon, if the trip was worth it but their worries were dispelled after a short time on the trail.  Everywhere they looked were pale carvings which stood out against blackish rocks.  The brochure stated there were over 21,000 of them that took over six years to record.   Jay scouted ahead on the trail while Chris scrambled amongst the rocks getting the best angle for each photograph until the sun dipped behind the mountain tops and the chill of the evening air signaled it was time to go.

Some of the more outstanding designs on the rocks.

This reminded Chris of the Chinese Yin and Yang.

They had some enjoyable chance encounters with interesting people during the week.  While on the dunes one evening, while Chris was setting up for a photograph, a man appeared in her field of view with a tripod.  In short order, two more men with tripods appeared coming from different directions.  At first Jay thought they were the same person but he moved from place to place too quickly.   Eventually they all converged around Chris’ tripod and they learned they were retired school teachers from British Columbia, CA on a two-week photo tour of the U.S.  Jay was in his glory now that he had an audience and they exchanged stories of adventures and places they’d visited while Chris focused on her work.  Contact information was swapped and all went on their way.

While at the Petroglyphs they ran into a couple from Pennsylvania.  When Chris and Jay returned to the truck they found a business card from the new acquaintances on the windshield with a suggestion of a place to visit near Sedona.  And a retired Coastie, whom Jay had spoken with earlier in the week at Holloman AFB, had left his card in the RV door at the campground.  The joy of seeing new places and meeting new people is the best part of their travels.

Calmer winds enabled them to depart further west and on March 9^th, they headed for the Gila Cliff Dwellings located high in the Gila National Forest, about a four hour drive away.