NP#62 - White Sands National Park
Shifting sands often bury the Yucca
June 17, 2021
#62- White Sands National Park
It’s been a couple of years since we ventured out to the parks in our quest to visit ALL of our country’s “major” National Parks. Pre-Covid, we ticked off numbers 60 and 61 - Gateway Arch in St. Louis and Indiana Dunes in northern Indiana.
Since then, Congress was able to sneak a couple of more parks in the mix by introducing them in the 1204th page of a Senate Bill aimed at Covid Relief. But folks, that's how stuff gets done in Washington. “You throw this tidbit in for me and I’ll support your pork” said the Senators from New Mexico and West Virginia. Rarely is there an SB or HB dedicated solely to the introduction of a new National Park.
Nonetheless, Terry and I packed up the doggies early Sunday morning and dropped them off at Micki and Roy’s on our way to Alamogordo, NM. Six and a half hours later we arrived at the Visitor Center at park number 62 – White Sands National Park.
The Drive
On our 470-mile road trip to the park, we encountered several “things” of interest. At least 100 miles west of Exit 322 on Interstate 10, we noticed several billboards advertising “The Thing!” The Billboards tease drivers with the idea that alien invaders were the cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs. Having been in marketing most of my career, I began counting how many billboards were dedicated to this roadside museum housing “The Thing.” In a 130-mile stretch beginning in western New Mexico to Exit 322, I counted 22 billboards. More than likely, there was at least that many between Tucson and Exit 322.
With nothing better to do while driving through this mostly uninteresting terrain, I had Terry look up the average cost of a roadside billboard. Based on 400,000 impressions per month, a billboard would cost the advertiser around $2000 per month. We couldn’t find an accurate accounting of vehicle traffic between Tucson and the New Mexico border, so we assumed it to be around 200,000 per month or $1000 per month per billboard.
The Thing has at least 40 bright yellow billboards scattered across the landscape. Quick math indicated it was costing the owners of The Thing around $40,000 a month to lure people to this tacky attraction. My guess is they had to have gotten a volume purchase discount from the billboard company, because at $10 per person admission cost, The Thing would need to generate 4000 visitors per month (135 per day) just to pay for the signs. When we passed by the museum both coming and going, there weren’t more than a few cars in the parking lot. And the billboards didn’t do enough to arouse our curiosity so we passed on the chance to view The Thing!
Most of the landscape between Peoria and White Sands is desert bland. Not much in the way of scenery to stimulate the eyeballs. We noticed there are several stretches along I-10 and Hwy 70 that are subjected to fierce dust storms. Signage along the roadway instructs drivers to: “Pull off the road during zero visibility. Turn off your car. Take your foot off the brake. Stay safety belted! Do not proceed until its safe to do so!”
However, for those of you who enjoy rockscapes, there are three spots along the route that are worth looking at. The first is located very close to The Thing! The weather sculpted granite boulders near Exit 322 are visually pleasing as are the rock formations near Stein, NM.
As you drive into Las Cruses on Highway 70, you’ll notice a rugged mountain range about 10 miles east of town. Shooting up to an elevation of 8,990 feet, the Organ Mountains reminded us of the saw tooth-looking Grand Teton Range in Wyoming.
The mountain range gets its name due to the series of granite spires that resemble the pipes of a pipe organ, hence the name Organ Mountains.
Continental Divide
We passed over the Continental Divide a few miles east of Lordsburg, NM. The elevation was a bit over 4300 feet. What struck me as odd is the terrain was relatively flat. Basically what the Divide represents is which side water and snow melt flows – either east or west – depending upon which side of the Divide you’re looking at. From our viewpoint as we passed over the Divide, it appeared water would flow south!
Missile Range
As we passed over the Organ Mountains on our way to the park, we passed the White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), which was established in 1945 as the US Army’s playground for blowing stuff up. The first atomic bomb was tested here on July 16, 1945.
After WWII, 100 German V-2 rockets that were confiscated by the US military were brought to the WSMR and many were test-fired within the range.
As we drove through the Missile Range, we noticed signs stating that Hwy 70 is closed for up to a couple of hours during random days of the week for continued missile testing. Being that it was Sunday, there were no signs of missile tests and we passed through the testing grounds unscathed!
The Park
We arrived at the park around 3:30 in the afternoon. As with all park visits, the first order of business is to obtain the official Park Pin, which will be placed upon the Commemorative Hat (see picture) that represents all the parks we’ve visited…plus a few more.
We meet Lizzy, Store Manager of the Western National Park Association’s Gift Shop located inside the Visitor Center. We ask her how our game has sold! She recognized Terry and me due to the fact that she had purchased a copy of our game – Trekking the National Parks™! It didn’t hurt that I was wearing one of our Trekking shirts!
When we ask her how she heard about the game, she said she saw an ad on Facebook and bought a copy. She liked the game so much, she convinced her boss that they should carry the product in their shop! Western National bought a couple of cases (12 games) in early April and had sold 8 of them. Product placement is a problem as they’ve got the game on the bottom shelf next to the checkout counter. But hey! They’re selling games. Lizzy is an advocate. And we are grateful for that!
After chatting it up with Lizzy, we ventured into the park to see what White Sands has to offer. It didn’t take long to realize that the main event is…well, white sand! And a whole lot of it!
Upon seeing this massive area of pure white sand, one question that came to mind is why did this area become what it is today? For thousand of square miles, the surrounding landscape looks nothing like White Sands. It more resembles what we see every day surrounding Phoenix. Desert beige…bland and unappealing.
Then there’s this pristine silica-like gypsum sand covering 275 square miles – the largest gypsum dunes field in the world. So large it can be seen clearly from space.
After visiting the Visitor Center, we enter the park and take the 8-mile scenic Dunes Drive into the heart of the gypsum dunes field. The first 5 miles are paved. The last three are a hard-packed gypsum sand road. The road is cleared periodically of the shifting sands, as there is a 2-foot tall berm throughout the drive resembling what a snow removal vehicle would make in snow country.
Trails
There are several small trails along the Dunes Drive beginning with the ¼ mile (one way) Playa Trail. This flat self-guided walk exposes you to the importance of a playa (lake) undergoing constant change. Please stay on the trail and DO NOT step on the biological soil crust!
Next up is the Dune Life Nature Trail, a one mile loop trail rated as moderate as you will be hiking up a couple of steep dunes in soft sand. Fourteen trailside signs help you gain a better understanding of this sandy ecosystem.
The Interdune Boardwalk is an easy 0.4-mile stroll on an elevated boardwalk with 10 outdoor exhibits along the way. The boardwalk is fully accessible for wheelchairs, strollers and other wheeled devices
The Backcountry Hiking Trail is a moderate 2-mile loop that takes you through the heart of the dunesfield. This hike will give you an expansive view of the world’s largest gypsum sandbox. This hike requires trekking up steep dunes with loose sand.
Alkali Flat Trail is a 5-mile loop that takes you into the “backcountry” of the park. It’s rated “strenuous” and requires trekking up and down several dunes, so don’t get confused by its name. It is NOT Flat! On this trail, you’ll encounter the park’s largest dunes with very little vegetation. Average completion time is three hours, so take plenty of water and do not attempt this hike when temperatures are elevated!
The Alkali Flat is the dry lakebed of Lake Ortero that filled the bottom of the Tularosa Basin during the last ice age and covered 1600 square miles.
The Sand
Millions of year ago the Permian Sea covered this region. When the waters receded, they left behind a deep layer of gypsum. When the surrounding mountains rose up, the mountains carried the gypsum to new heights. Wind, rain and glaciation dissolved the mineral and gravity did its best to deposit the gypsum to the valley floor.
Over thousands of years, wind and sunlight separated water from the gypsum thus forming selenite crystals, which eventually became small grains of “white sand.” Steady southwest winds kept the gypsum sand tumbling about the landscape, piling it up into dunes of various sizes.
With the fierce winds that are known to blow through this region, one has to wonder why the dunes don’t just blow away? The answer – water, the glue that holds the dunes together. Gypsum dunes are known to remain moist even during long stretches of drought. This moisture keeps the dunes from blowing away.
This phenomenon would seem to explain why the sand in the traps at the TPC Scottsdale Stadium course appeared to be very fluffy, but in fact were very firm! Just an inch below the surface the sand was very moist!
Our overall impression of the park – it’s a very unique landscape worthy of a visit. Much, if not all of it can be experienced in a day unless you plan to camp in the backcountry. Unfortunately, at the time of our visit, the backcountry camping permits have been suspended due to the rehabilitation of the camping sites!
No comments:
Post a Comment