New Mexico, Las Cruces - Tuesday, April 16, 2019 - White Sands National Monument

On our drive into Las Cruces we had to find the “Recycled Roadrunner”.  Directions to this roadside attraction were a bit sketchy indicating it was at an eastbound rest stop off of I-10 “just before you get into Las Cruces”.  We found it at mm 135.  Over the years the sculpture has been “refeathered” by several rounds of recycled products. 

Looking out over the area where we will be staying for the next few days.

This is us, looking good!

As we were getting ready to head out this morning Greg did an especially good cleaning on the Jeep windows so I could take pictures.  It was all in vain a short time later – we were hit by a huge swarm of some kind of insects.  Yesterday the same thing happened to us in the RV.  When over 100 bugs hit your windshield at the same time it’s pretty noisy!

Our destination today was the White Sands National Monument.  We stopped at the visitor’s center so Greg could clean the windshield again.

The mineral gypsum occurs in some of the rock layers in the nearly mountains.  Rain washes the gypsum into the bowl shaped basin below.  The shape of this basin keeps the gypsum from flowing to the sea.  Instead, the water evaporates and the gypsum is left behind.  Water and wind break up the gypsum crystals into gypsum sand which is carried by the wind into the dunes.

It’s like a winter wonderland out here.

A pure white dune field is one of the rarest landscapes on earth.  Only a handful of gypsum dune systems exist, this is the largest.  Several films have included scenes filmed at the dunes, a couple I recognized where Transformers, 2006 and Year One, 2008.

The boardwalk between the dunes is a nice walk.

Lots of picnic areas throughout the facility.  All with shields to protect from the wind.

They have sleds available at the visitor center if you feel adventurous.  

After you leave the paved road about halfway through the facility you are on packed gypsum which looks like ice.