After returning home from the cruise, we packed up to head back to Washington. Baby Frankie has been born, so we went from Biloxi, Mississippi, to Puyallup, Washington, via Tampa, Florida! Even more out of the way than "Uneasy Rider"! (For those of you who are lost, listen to Charlie Daniels Band's "Uneasy Rider". "I wonder if anybody'd think I'd flipped if I went to LA via Omaha.") Anyway, Frankie's amazing, just like the rest of the friends and family we saw in Florida and Tennessee before turning our sights to the westward trip ahead. Because it's still snowing in the snowy spots, we decided to take the southern route, and we hopped off of I-40 right around Amarillo and took back roads to I-10 so we could stop by White Sands National Park in New Mexico.
I drove much of the way to Amarillo since we've seen those roads many times. We passed the Leaning Tower of Texas in Grooms and the Slug Bug Ranch, all the signs for the Big Texan steakhouse with the 72 ounce tomohawk steak, the Quarter Horse museum and AQHA (American Quarter Horse Association) headquarters. In my youth, I sent quite the number of registration papers to the AQHA. One day, I'm going to stop and go in! But not today. I drove out of Amarillo and stopped in Hereford, Texas. And yes, the second I opened the door, I could tell we were in cattle country! Whew! I do NOT miss that smell! It was about lunch time, and they had some really good looking Tex-Mex food in the gas station. Driving on through town, they had what looked like some pretty good Tex-Mex local eateries, too. But, this was the first place to stop we found, and it took us around 30-45 minutes outside of Amarillo to find it! Knowing that bathrooms did not seem very plentiful down those back roads, we opted for the safety of the local McDonald's. I finally got my fried fish sandwich that I had wanted on the cruise!
You can tell how much the Texans would like to have legalized weed. US 60 dead ends into US 84 at the Texas/New Mexico state line in Texico, New Mexico. On the New Mexico side, right at the dead end, was the first weed shop in New Mexico! Reminded me of the little beer joint that always stayed so busy at the Robertson County/Bracken County line in Kentucky when I was growing up. (Robertson County was dry and Bracken County was wet.) That little beer joint stayed much busier than the population around it would predict!
When we reached Portales, New Mexico, I had to stop for the sign. As we were going through town, I realized I may want to come back. There is an archeological dig sight called the Blackwater Draw that I would like to see. It covers the history of the Clovis cultures, the oldest well-defined cultural group known to have existed in North America. Along with its friendly people and old grouches, Portales also has a museum dedicated to the Blackwater Draw. This is right up my alley!
We took the bypass around Roswell, so we didn't see anything except orchards. Who knew they grew so many tree-based fruits in Roswell. Apples, pears, peaches, plums. I really thought those fruits needed more water and colder weather than could be found in the New Mexico desert. Color me wrong, though! We didn't see any alien-related shops or signs until we were past Roswell. Bruce's knee started hurting just outside Portales, so I was driving and didn't get any pictures. Some of the little shops looked cute from the road. We have to go to Roswell for Alien Days, which are in July. We also need to come back for Ruidoso Downs for the quarter horse races. They apparently run all summer instead of just a week or two all year on the thoroughbred tracks.
As we were pulling into Alamagordo, New Mexico, we drove by PistachioLand. We had a little time to kill before dinner, so we pulled in. It's a cute little shop with an ice-cream window on the porch and a wine tasting area just inside the doors. I left my purse with my ID in the car, so I wasn't able to taste the wine. Bummer!
We made it to our hotel, got settled in, and ordered a deep dish pizza for dinner. It was really good! Not as good as Lou Malnati's in Chicago, but definitely tasty! There were no leftovers for lunch, but we still have balogna for sandwiches!
We got up early-ish the next morning and headed to White Sands National Park. I had checked the missile testing schedule to make sure there wasn't anything interfering with the park being open, but I didn't realize just how central the missile testing range was to both the towns and the park!
Just after crossing into the missile range, I was sure I was seeing things! I had Bruce make a U-Turn and go back and stop so I could get pictures of what I thought I saw, and I did! I did taw a puddy tat! Only instead of a puddy tat, it was an animal that lives in the African plains - An African gemsbok aka oryx! Well, I had a task to do when we got back! I had to find out how he got on the White Sands Missile Testing Range! And learn I did. Because it's apparently inconvenient to drive 30 minutes down the road to where elk live if you want to hunt large game, the proverbial "they" imported these antelope in from Africa for hunting. The oryx have thrived in this environment, apparently jumping the fences, and establishing herds both on and off of the missile range. And you can enter the lottery to hunt these guys, both on and off range. There are some requirements to get the permits for the hunt. You must be able to pass a background check and cannot have any felonies among other things, including a pretty hefty registration fee.
We finally got into the park and the visitor center still hadn't opened. So, we went on into the park a bit.
The first sand dunes weren't overly impressive.
I didn't take the Dune Life Nature Trail (even though I would have liked to) because I didn't want to wear myself out trying to climb 3 sand dunes before I tried out sledding.
So, we took a little flat trail out to a dry lake, the Playa Trail. There was a warning about rattle snakes on the trail head, and Bruce got irritated every time the plastic bag I had wrapped around my camera made noise! This little common side-blotched lizard was the closest thing we found. He was pretty much the only visible life that lived in the park that we saw all day.
This is the lake. It looked to be a little damp in the center, where the poles for some reason are. I would have normally walked out onto it, but the signs said there were tadpoles and frogs and other dormant life just under the surface of the ground cover. So, I stayed off the lake so I didn't kill them.
By the time we finished our little hike, the visitor center was reopened. We went back and rented a little saucer-shaped sand sled. They were $15 to rent with a $10 deposit, $25 to buy used. Then we re-entered the park and started driving on back. The landscape turned very different. All of this beautiful, white, powdery sand on both sides of the road as far as the eye could see!
And the sand ultimately covered the road! You could tell they plowed the park roads regularly, but it was still a little slick driving over it. In my defense, this is not a DIRT road. It's asphalt covered in sand.
After riding around the park, we selected this dune to try our hand at sledding. This is the eastern side, which is the side recommended to slide down, as the eastern is the steeper side of the dunes.
Me trying to climb this sand dune. This was really difficult. I ended up having to throw the saucer up the dune and scramble up to it on my hands and knees, then rinse and repeat. It's higher than it looks!
But, oooooohhhhhh, how much fun it was to slide down!
I remembered to take a picture of the sled
And I talked Bruce into trying it! He found a lower spot to go up, just on his feet, and walk across the top of the dune to the sledding spot. I copied him when it was my turn again!
Obviously, he enjoyed it, too! But getting up winded him, so he only did it once. Look at that smile, though! And if you listen closely, you can hear him laugh over the wind blowing on the camerad!
After wearing ourselves out from sledding, we drove out of the park, catching a few more pictures on the way. We decided that after a nap, we wanted to come back and catch sunset and sled some more before the park closes. They close the park at dark because it is REALLY easy to get disoriented in the dunes. They also only limit alcohol consumption part of the year, which I don't understand. I mean, I understand restricting alcohol in a place that is disorienting, but I don't understand only doing it part of the year, and not summer. Anyway, we stopped by the visitor center to see about converting the sled rental to a purchase since the center closes long before sunset. Plus, we can probably use this same saucer for snow sledding! They guy said the cost to buy was the same as the rental with the deposit, so just to not bring it back. If they don't want to do the conversion paperwork, that works for me! So we headed back for a nap and some food.
Refreshed from napping and with a fresh SD card in the camera, we came back to the park. I took some pictures from atop the dunes along with some sunset and dusk shots before sledding again! This is fun, so we MUST come back!
These little picnic areas are in various places in the park. Lots of people come and sled all day. I don't remember for sure, but I think I saw some grills in some of the picnic areas, and most of them had vault toilets. Just be prepared for the wind when making food choices.
Big Red and Bruce look so cute down by the sand grasses.
The pattern on the dunes has been reformed by the winds after sledders have left.
Probably would have been better looks at the Sacramento Mountains in the background if I had been up where these folks are.
Still beautiful sunset on the dunes!
Even after naps, we were very tired when we left the park after dark. White Sands National Park closes after sunset, and I'm sure they sent a ranger around to make sure everybody was gone before shutting the gates. They do some ranger-led moon walks some nights, but not this night. We and our new sled made our way back to the hotel, ready for bed.
