White Sands, New Mexico

We will be leaving New Mexico soon, to journey on back to the east coast, and it makes me prematurely nostalgic for the state I will be leaving. It also makes me realize some awesome locations I have not yet shared, one of them being White Sands New Mexico.

walking the hills of White Sands

The sands are blown out of a nearby lake, whose bottom is full of gypsum formed when the area was far, far under the sea. Now, originally I wasn’t entirely convinced visiting White Sands was a great idea. After all, the atomic bomb was tested here a month before it was dropped on Japan. Isn’t nuclear fallout supposed to last a really, really, long time? Is it actually safe to be so close to that? But when an inspired family trip brought us there, I was glad I went, if only for the gorgeous pictures achieved because of a white snow-like background.

pretty blue New Mexico sky

It truly does feel like you’re staring at a snowy desert, though there is not a bit of snow in sight. It certainly fooled our dog, who ran around scooping up big piles of sand in his mouth and chomping it down the same way he loves to eat snow. (On a further side note, cleaning up white sandy poop the next day was quite a treat.)

white sand makes an interesting snack

Part National Monument, part military land (the road going through the park is sometimes closed due to nearby missile testing) the quiet beauty of the sands belie the tragic associations of their past.

The never-ending dunes of white sand stretching out towards the horizon under a clear blue sky won me over, as I’m sure they would anyone who comes to see this unique, photogenic place.