The visitor center at White Sands National Memorial was rustic and beautiful. The rangers and volunteers were very helpful and we did get to see a 20 minute film about the area.
The sands move constantly, some of them moving a few feet each year. The plants that grow in the area have to adapt to the shifting landscape. The plant above has roots that hold the sand in place enabling it to survive. Many little rodents find refuge in the plants root system.
Lonely little shrubs do survive in the shifting sands, while others only make it in the depressions between the dunes.
The white sands and the blue sky make for a wonderful contrast in the picture above.
As we drive from the visitor center to the center of the park where the large dunes are located we run out of paved road. From now until we arrive at the picnic area it is all compacted white sand that is graded and kept smooth for vehicle traffic.
This is just one of the picnic areas. It had rained the night before and you can see puddles in the foreground. All the picnic areas are sheltered with these sweeping covers. There are 4 or 5 different picnic areas. No overnight camping is allowed, but one of the volunteers told us that Easter weekend there are 5,000 rigs that drive in early in the morning to watch the sunrise and spend the day. They come from Las Cruces, El Paso and even further. Today there were only a few hearty souls picnicking in the area. The weather was nice and the wind was still.
A few of the visitors climbing on the dunes. At the gift shop you can buy or rent saucers to slide down the dunes. You can see in the picture above some of the trails that are left after sliding down. Those get covered and blown away all the time.
A beautiful New Mexico sunset the evening before we head into Arizona.
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