Another highlight of the year was White Sands National Park, another somewhat hidden gem. We stopped here on the first day of my cross-country move from Tucson to Atlanta. The dunes were spectacular and other-wordly, and we were treated to a beautiful sunset, rainbow, and some lovely flora and fauna too!
We started at the interdune boardwalk.
Despite the harsh landscape, there were various little flowers, wildlife, and other signs of life, including:
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| White Sands Fanmustard (Nerisyrenia linearifolia)? |
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| Gypsum Centaury (Zeltnera maryanniana)? |
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| Hartweg's Sundrops (Oenothera hartwegii)? |
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| Say's Phoebe (Sayornis saya) |
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| Black-throated Sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata) |
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| Southwestern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus cowlesi) |
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| Various tracks in the sand |
Next we drove along "Dunes Drive" until we found a relatively quiet spot to watch the sunset and climb the dunes.
As the sun set, we also got a brief rainbow, whose colors were particularly striking above the white gypsum sands.
Both the dunes and the alkali flats make you feel like you're on another planet entirely:
The sand itself forms a wavy pattern, emergent from the physics of wind and small particles. The wind was constantly moving the sand grains, which quickly covered footprints and other tracks.
It's hard to capture just how impressive the dunes are, but I hope you've gotten a taste!
It's worth mentioning that the park is well worth the visit if you're driving by, even if you only have half an hour or so, and it's right off Route 70. We stayed the night after in Alamagordo before embarking on the rest of our drive.
And if you're so inclined, you can combine it with a trip to Roswell, where we stopped for lunch the next day. They've really leaned into the whole alien thing! 😂
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