White Sands National Monument

The White Sands National Monument was our goal today. These amazing gypsum sand dunes are found outside of Alamogordo, NM. The dunes are formed by minerals in the surrounding mountains being dissolved by rain and washed down into a basin. The water having no outlet, it evaporates leaving crystalized gypsum which eventually crumbles into sand by the ever present southwest winds. These dunes move with the winds, some as much 38 feet a year. Plants do survive on these dunes by adapting to the movement and sending long roots to the water level which is generally 2-3 feet below the ground surface. As you can see in the picture, kids can slide down the dunes.

New Mexico also has a Space Museum and an IMAX movie theater in Alamogordo. We saw an IMAX movie of the Hubble telescope, what the astronauts had to do to repair it and some of what it has discovered in space.

Finally I had to take a picture of the Virginia car parked in the White Sands National Monument Visitor Center. The same sign was on the driver side door, also. I think the owner has no hope and has seen too much change.