2019 SouthWest: the amazing White Sands ~ Route Alto 80

It was a nice drive along Hwy 70 from Roswell to Alamogordo. The road winds it’s way up the east side of the Sacramento Mountains, through the Hondo Valley, then descends into Tularosa. From there it is only a short distance to Oliver Lee Memorial Park.

The park is gorgeous! Annie, a fellow Alto owner, raves about the park, and that was all the endorsement we needed to stay here. Well spaced sites set in a dessert oasis, with paths that weave all through the park, give you the opportunity to see many different types of cacti and plants up close. The park is set right up against the mountain and adjoining Dog Canyon. To the west, you can gaze out over the valley towards White Sands.

hell of a view

the sunset illuminating our backdrop was pretty nice

White Sands National Monument is also well worth the visit. Tucked in the Tularosa Basin, the dunes cover 275 square miles. The dunes are not sand, but deep wind blown layers of gypsum. When the water is separated from the gypsum, the remaining selenite crystals are slowly broken down by the strong southwest winds. Over time they are worn into smaller and smaller pieces, and the wind keeps moving the gypsum sand steadily around.

Beyond the visitor centre, you drive a round trip 16 miles out into the dunes. Soon the asphalt stops, and you are driving on a packed gypsum roadway. It looks very much like a snow road, and sure enough, a grader soon appeared, pushing back the sand, keeping the road a road.

great visitor centre

apparently this is a never ending battle

There are also many areas to stop and even have a picnic. Campers are also able to boondock, with sun shelters and washroom buildings available.

We climbed a few of the dunes, and it was certainly a challenge. The gypsum is very fine and soft, and each step up a slope creates a small avalanche beneath your feet. The views are amazing from the top. The white dunes form a myriad of shapes, and stretch on forever.

pretty excited to be here

interesting shapes wherever you look...hard not to go photo crazy

the gypsum sand just flies off those ridges

hanging on

The gypsum is like talc powder, very fine, and it sticks to everything. You may think you have brushed it off your hands, but you will find a white hand print left behind wherever you opened the car door. Which brings me back to the boondocking. Between the fineness of the sand, and the ever present wind, I suspect you would be cleaning gypsum out of the camper, and everything else, for a very long time.

Back to town, we made a stop at the New Mexico Museum of Space History. Situated well up the hills above town, the museum had a small but interesting collection. They were in the midst of renovations and rearranging the exhibits, so it was perhaps not as complete as it may have been in the past.

an actual moon rock...kinda hard to fathom what it took to bring it here

Try as she might at the controls, Dale was unable to transport me anywhere

We arrived back at the park as a storm was rolling in. Off to the west, the skies were dark, and it looked like a front of rain was making its way towards us. The strangest thing occurred, the apparent rain never happened. That rain front was actually a thick cloud, that moved right through us. Once the mist dried, it left behind a zillion little dust spots. The cloud must pick up the fine red dust from the ground, and deposit it further along its way. Pretty cool.

We chatted a long time with a Park Ranger before heading out in the morning. This Ranger had been at Oliver Lee since 1988, and knew every square inch of the park. Listening to his conversation about the park, it was clear that the key reason to why this park is so good, it’s the commitment of a long service Ranger that brings the consistency and stability to the park operations.