White Sands National Monument

Since we drove by White Sands last night in the dark, we headed back west (about 30 miles) to see this phenomenal place.  Do NOT miss it if you are ever in the area!  We got there about 8:30 a.m., were one of the first groups there, and it was calm and cool (about 55).  About half way into the park the pavement ends and you are driving on hardened sand (actually gypsum) which has been plowed by a huge grader to the sides of the road.  We got out at the end of the park road and headed into the dunes.  I was surprised by how hard they were, I guess I expected it to be like walking on a beach.  The dogs had a blast running around- they acted like little kids.  There were little kids there sliding down the dunes on saucers.  We stayed and hiked around different areas of the park for about 2 hours.  By 11:00 it was 75 and getting warm.  When we sat down the sand felt cool.  We didn't see any animals, just some beetles and lots of tracks.  It was very cool and quiet.  There was an area where they do filming, I know that some recent music videos have been filmed here.  The area is part of the larger 3200 square mile White Sands Missile Range. By the time we got back to our campsite after stopping at Pistachio Land (groves and store), the wind had picked up and we could see the white sands blowing from 30 miles away!  Sure glad we went when we did. We drove two hours to Roswell and checked into Town and Country RV Park.  It was about 89 when we got here, it seems like the AC is working pretty well- too bad the pool is not open yet!! Joe and Nancy got here about 5:00 and we went downtown Roswell to cruise the strip and check it out. Had dinner at Farley's. Good food, reasonable.  Came back to camper- AC had worked very well, it was 68!  Caught up with journal and in bed early.