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Writer's pictureJaela Deming

November 17, 2023: Walking in a White SANDY Wonderland

DID YOU KNOW? New Mexico is home to White Sands National Park, a land of massive sand dunes strangely, for us, reminiscent of Minnesota snow mounds. Originally designated as a National Monument in 1933 by President Hoover, it was redesignated as a National Park in 2019 by President Trump. Made of gypsum sand, dunes can reach up to 60 feet tall and are home to many animals…including rattlesnakes, scorpions, and black widows – so watch where you step. Popular activities include sledding, hiking, and biking.



Our visit to White Sands was brief, due to Rosie being hospitalized back in El Paso, but it was a delightful experience. Driving into the dunes was really crazy, as it looked so much like the snowplowed roads of Minnesota in the winter. The first portion of the scenic drive is concrete/asphalt, but then it simply becomes a packed sand road. At first we were concerned that our big rig would sink, but it was as solid as a typical road.



While the sun made it pretty hot, the sand itself was nice and cool on the feet. As with the Coral Pink Sand Dunes, shoes and socks were quickly ditched, although the gypsum sand was solidly packed and wasn't as soft as would be expected.



And then it was playtime! Unlike many national parks, White Sands permits pets to explore the scenic topography with their owners, so Nellie had an absolute blast playing in the ginormous sandbox. :) We had purchased two sleds from the visitor center, planning to share them since they were expensive. However, as we were heading out of the visitor center, a young lady gave us her two sleds that she was done with, saying that two sleds wouldn't be enough for our sized family. God certainly provides.


Playing in the not-snow

Hills were shorter and slower than at the Coral Pink Sand dunes of Utah

No, Nellie wasn't happy about going down on a sled instead of her own four feet :)

Every winter we build snow jumps...I guess it's sand jumps this year :)

Backwards trip off the jump for Sammy! :o

While the sledding wasn't as fun as it was at the Utah dunes, we had fun in other ways...


Jumping in the sand

Letting Nellie run free

And this might have been my idea...maybe?


Burying her alive

Help???

What mean big siblings Maleah has :)

Breaking free from her sandy captivity

One final interesting fact: the park is connected to the White Sands Missile Range, where missiles are built and tested. The park is sometimes closed due to tests, and visitors are warned not to touch any unusual objects (potentially undetonated missiles) they may find and instead alert rangers. Kinda crazy, if you ask me.


As the sun went down, our time at the dunes came to an end and we returned to the RV, where it was quite a job trying to get everyone cleaned off while tracking as little sand inside as possible. After that, we found a local Walmart in nearby Alamogordo to park for the night, and then awoke early the next day to return to El Paso. The White Sand Dunes were yet another beautiful and spectacular place to see and spend time as we continue on our journey to explore our Father's world.


Until next time, God bless!


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