White Sands National Park, Alamogordo, NM

SUN., FEB. 12 thru THUR., FEB. 16, 2023

On Sunday we arrived in Alamogordo, NM. A beautiful ride from Deming NM with little traffic, rolling hills and wide open vistas and one really, really long train with 4 engines in front. We arrived to Alamogordo/White Sands KOA and realized that our bad luck was continuing with RV maintenance issues. Gary noticed that a spring below the new axle had broken and severed one of the brake lines on the RV. Rut roh. Not good. 

We got the name of a Mobile RV Repair Service and John came over immediately… even on Super Bowl Sunday. Impressive. Parts are on order but they won’t arrive until some time Thursday. So we’ve had to extend here for 2 additional nights, but have to change sites. Of course we do. But we’re grateful the KOA could accommodate us. Also we noticed the truck has been sluggish starting on these cold mornings so that’s sitting at the local dealership for (we think) new batteries. Hopefully we’ll get it back today. We’re just having all sorts of fun. But, we’re safe and that’s the most important even if I did have a mini-meltdown. I reminded myself that things could be a lot worse than our month long off & on RV issues. 

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023 we visited White Sands National Park. We had an other-worldly monochromatic experience as it was a chilly, cloudy 40-degree day and gusty 20-mph winds in the afternoon. Snow showers even made an appearance in the morning! 

The park, located in the Tularosa Basin in the Chihuahuan Desert, covers 275 square miles (or 176,000 acres) and is the largest gypsum dune field in the world. Gypsum, a mineral, is the main ingredient in drywall and plaster-of-Paris but it’s also found in food, household products and medicines. The other fun fact we learned is that “sand” is defined by grain size. Rocks, lava, seashells, and minerals like quartz are considered sand when they are smaller than the thickness of a nickel. Gypsum, when it reaches that size, is considered sand. This sand felt just like beach sand as it slipped through your fingers but it was a bit harder packed and stickier. The 2 ft. sand piles that lined the sides of the 16-mile scenic road looked just like snow piles. We walked about 2 miles over a variety of trails. The outer dune fields are slow growing because the plants anchor them in place. The plant holds on to the gypsum and roots form inside of that structure. The sand dune creeps along at 0-to-8 ft per year. The newer dunes grow or shift much faster at 24-38 ft per year. Amazing!

When you’re out walking, there are red markers signifying the trail. The ranger said “don’t move forward until you see the next red trail marker. Sometimes they get covered by sand, if that happens go no further and turn back.” I can see why… you could be wandering around for hours.

So glad we got to see this national park!

Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, we visited McGinn’s Pistachio Tree Ranch. Home of the World’s Largest Pistachio. And, yes we bought pistachios! They have all kinds! John, our Mobile RV Repair guy, came back and got the repairs done to our tiny home since the parts arrived early… new springs and a new brake line. Sandy, the campground owner, was a sweetheart and is letting us leave a day early with a full refund. Next stop Van Horn, TX. Fingers crossed and prayers for an uneventful travel day tomorrow.