White Sands National Monument

Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here, great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert and created the world's largest gypsum dune field.



"http://www.nps.gov/whsa/"

Our Photos from 10-15-08

This is in New Mexico not far from Las Cruces or Alamogordo


These Plants trap the sand around them so when the winds blow the sand away it is trapped around their roots. Thus they can survive.

I think David wanted to ski down this slop. People do use the snow saucers to sled down these slops. So of the slopes are quit high. You should have seen him trying to get back up the slope.

This is very small maybe about 5" or so. Not sure if an animal made this or there is a plant under there some where.

Many bushes and plants do live in this harsh environment. There is an Oak tree that lives here that if its leaves are on the surface it will will survive even if the sands engulf it's trunk. Very interesting area.

There were several butterfly's on this bush.

Believe it or not they have to plow the road many mornings to open it up for traffic. The wind blows the sand all over the roads.

It is very hard to capture the white sands. We were there between 2:00 and 4:00 P.M. not the best time for taking photos. Early mornings or evenings would be a good time.

The gypsum that makes up the white sands starts out as clear, translucent sand grains. As the wind bounces the sand grains along the ground, they collide and scratch each other. The scratches change the way light reflects off the grains, making the sand appear white.

Who can resist drawing in the sand? As you can see I was having a great time.