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White Sands
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Yet another stunning visual display. The picture at the top of thispage doesn't do justice to the visual spectacle.
We drove from Carlsbad to Alamogordo. It's a long drive. We found anice camp site at the base of a small mountain. Nothing but sand and brush. Deer and oddlooking jack-rabbits everywhere. We didn't see a roadrunner, but Jane, Sarah and the kidswere terrorized by a tarantula. Although not paradise, the attitude among the group haddramatically improved. Things were looking up.
The next day we visited the White Sands National Park. Somewhere nearbywas the White Sands Missile base. We didn't see it, concluding it was only slightly morelikely that they would allow us to tour their base as opposed to the nearby Area 51. The Sands are amazing. "White as snow" is a cliche, but appropriate inthis case. What the photo can't convey is the brightness. Even to someone who had beendriving into the setting sun for two weeks, the July sun reflected of the ivory sands wasblinding. Pristine, drifting dunes; even the roads were completely whited out. I can noteven begin to fathom why we would choose such a beautiful locale to explode the world'sfirst atomic bomb. It's baffling.
That afternoon we hit the road again. Myself and Jane, along with Sarah and the kids, hadto hit the Wal-Mart for supplies. Angie and Kara went ahead, planning to meet us at thecampground on the Rio Grande in Albuquerque. We split up. It was the last time we wouldever see the van.
Next: Bob and the Rio Grande