The next morning, I drove to Alomogordo to a part of Tulorosa Basin: White Sands National Monument. Covering 250 sq feet you can imagine all you can see for miles is beautiful white sand (gypsum crystals). The dunes remain untouched with perfect lines. The yucca plants lay in sharp contrast to the white sand.
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| Blue sky and white sand! |
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| Yucca plant |
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| Me at White Sands |
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| Ski hill? |
A trip to White Sands would not be complete without sand sledding....A sharp contrast to sand boarding in South America but still fun!
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Sand sledding!
After a wonderful day at White Sands, with temperatures in the high 90's, I drove 4 more hours to Carlsbad in the Chihuahuan Desert and Guadalupe Mountains. Upon entering the caves, I was a little nervous. With a fear of bats and the occasional fear of small, enclosed spaces I wasn't sure how this trip to the cave would pan out. Who would've guessed the hidden treasures that lay beneath the cacti, thorny bushes and trees. As I walked into the cave entrance the air became cool and damp. I felt water dripping on my head and could see it trickling down through the cracks in the cave. Carlsbad Cavern was a reef 250 million years ago, then as the water evaporated the reef was buried under salt (and gypsum). It is speculated that a few million years later, erosion caused the reef to uncover. Rainwater, slightly acidic from the air and soil seeped into the cracks in the reef and dissolved into the limestone. This created the chambers of the cave. The karst formations in the cave were incredible. The cave was elegantly decorated with stalactites and stalagmites (seen below).
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