The Sand Was SO Very White

I actually got up early and hit the road at a decent hour of the morning.  I actually found found myself running low on gasoline about halfway through White Sands Missile Range.  I decided to go back 15 miles because there are no gas stations anywhere near the park.  I figured I'd be driving around all day and didn't want to freak myself out again.

Big mountain between Las Cruses and White Sands that I got to go over twice each way.  Poor Ruby (the Jeep).

Got there and checked out the shop (because it's on the way in) and got a couple of things...Hey, Centennial Celebration T-shirts are on sale and there were purple ones!

So, White Sands....pretty much aptly named.  You kind of transition into it with more plant life than sand...then you get to fields of white sand.  Funny thing...I was wearing sunglasses and kept thinking to myself..."this is more beige than white, what's the big deal?"  Then, I realized I was wearing sunglasses with brown lenses...LOL.

So lots of white sand with scrubby green things...tallest thing are the yucca plants.

I went to do the Alkali Flats hiking trail...got about a half mile in and took some photos of the unending sea of white...

Decided this was a good time for a selfie...

Then thought better of a 5 mile hike in sun that was coming from above and below (reflecting from the superwhite sand).  I headed back to the car...

Had my picnic lunch and drove around the loop one more time.  I wanted to stay until closing because there is a daily "sunset stroll" through the dunes, led by a park employee and it sounded really cool.  But, there just wasn't enough to keep me busy from 1 until 4.

I set my newly updated GPS to "craft store" and ended up in a shop full of silver jewelry and pottery in nearby Alamogordo.  I then found the downtown area...depressingly without gift shops.  But, I had wasted a couple of hours...

Back to the park (your $5 gets you 6 days admission!) and waited for the group to form.  We took a little walk together around the dunes and saw some more plant life...like this half buried cottonwood.

Then it was time for the sunset.

Unfortunately, moonrise was a half hour after the park closed.  The super moon would have looked really cool over the sands.

Back in the rental doing laundry.  Need a shower to get the sunscreen off.  Bed soon...gonna try Carlsbad Caverns tomorrow.