White Sands N.P.

It was a cold start this morning (but not as bad as it had been the night before when I came through the mountains). Once again I was thankful for the heated grips on the bike. I was now heading south, this time to Las Cruces but only to pick up a westerly road on to Alamogordo - nearest town to the White Sands National Park (and missile testing range - a strange combination!)

One of the most challenging things about getting out to the National Park was having to ride through dust storms and dodge the masses of large tumbleweed which seemed to come out of nowhere. Certainly sharpens your concentration when you have to slalom around these road loving, potential disasters. I did at one point feel like I was in a bizarre video game, as I dodged tumbleweed appearing out of the dust storm. Still, safely through to the next level and I arrived at the White Sands National Park.

Looks Like Snow

The name of the park pretty much gives away what to expect. White Sands is the world's largest gypsum dune field with gypsum sand having engulfed 275 square miles of desert. Certainly startling to look at, and it was a nice change to be able to take the bike of the asphalt for a while, although I didn't manage to get it up any of the dunes (i'm quite sure thats not allowed anyway.) The bright white of the sand gave the impression of being out in the snow (only much warmer :-))

After a couple of hours of riding and walking around the park (remembering to keep an eye on the skies for any 'friendly fire') I left with boots full of the white stuff and set off for my next stop of the day...

... Roswell - Its not missiles in the skies around Roswell that you need to worry about!

Thats Marketing For You!

Actually there isn't a lot to see in Roswell, but it was only a couple of hours away so I couldn't resist. Such a famous name and the locals have certainly cashed in on the whole Alien thing. Even the street lights are painted up with Alien faces. The International UFO Museum and Research Center was very interesting and they do present a good case with lots of intriguing documentary evidence and government reports. I left without any real answers (of course I wasn't expecting any) but lots of questions. Enough to keep my mind busy at least for the next hour and a half until I reached my home for the night in Carlsbad

A few more pics of the 'White Stuff':

Missile Trace?

Sun Glasses Please!