It’s a National Park that lies smack in the middle of an active missile testing range.
Thus, it’s advisable to check in advance to ensure there are no tests scheduled for the day you’ll be in White Sands National Park. Turns out, they give the park rangers about 24-48 hours notice before a test– and most are in the early morning hours before the park opens, so the conflicts are few. But they do happen.
The White Sands at White Sands are stunning– the grains are gypsum sand, made up of gypsum crystals that form from selenite crystals that break down into smaller and smaller particles, until they become sand. Being enclosed by mountains on all sides, and anchored downward by a water table of salt water beneath, the dunes don’t blow away– making this gypsum dune field the largest in the entire world.
This was another National Park that was dog-friendly, and Mac took advantage– literally frolicking up and down every dune. He would climb to the top of a dune, then Zoomie down, gaining momentum as he went. Being a Shepherd mix, his semi-webbed toes helped him considerably, and I snapped a photo of his toes all spread out for traction as he stood (below).
White Sands might appear to be bereft of life, but the rangers explained the park is home to 800+ known species, most of which a visitor won’t see, as they come out only at night. The gates to White Sands close at 6 PM. so unless you’re one of the few who secured a walk-up campsite– there’s not a way to see them unless you see the photos in the visitors center.
Many of the species have adapted over the years to become lighter in color to match the dunes and blend away from predators– which means the lizards, mice, crickets, and spiders have turned several shades lighter over the generations. A few of the animal life have turned completely white– a color of their species found only within the park bounds.
The ranger mentioned that the kit foxes that lives within the dunes evolved not to drink ANY water (!) and instead, rely on the liquid within prey to supply their bodies with the moisture they need. Harsh environments like the dunes require adaptation.
The sheer scale of the dunes was hard to take in, and impossible to capture with a camera. The vastness stretched in every direction to the point of being disorienting– there was a few times I lost my bearings, and needed to orient by finding a distinctive object– I once wandered so far in one direction as to lose my sightline to the van entirely, which was downright frightening for a moment.
Being there in early winter, temporarily losing my sense of direction never felt dangerous– but I can’t imagine doing that on the hottest days in the park. White dunes in every direction you can see, stretching on for miles, is nothing to play with.
My quest within the park was to find some untouched sand– White Sands is the most visited natural site in New Mexico, and I wanted to get away from the people– and their footsteps left in the sand– to really feel the desolate nature of the place. As the winter day advanced, the shadows lengthened a bit across the sand, which was a delightful sight, as the form and shape of the dunes became more visible as the day went on.
I wanted to stay for dusk, as I knew these shadows would become even more dramatic, and the skies of New Mexico– which always put on a technicolor show of bright oranges and pastels– would create a whole different sensation within the place.
I didn’t know how right I was.
As the sun fell further, the skies spun into cotton-candy, dreamlike colors– the gentle clouds whisked across the atmosphere. The park got quieter as more people headed for the exits– but the creatures were no-doubt stirring under my feet, preparing to wake up and emerge for the night ahead. I wish we could have camped, to see the strange wildlife that inhabit these dunes– but like everyone else, we hit the road in anticipation of the closing gate.
Posted by Sun
