I found walking through this moon like landscape to be fascinating. I purposely went early in the morning and late in the evening to enjoy the cooler temperatures and beautiful light. I want to come back and camp under the magnificent stars sometime.
Sincerely,
White Sands National Park
They may look like mounds of snow, but the dunes in this park are made of a rare form of crystallized gypsum. Because gypsum dissolves easily in water, rain would normally wash it away and carry it to the sea. In this part of the Chihuahuan Desert, however, the land forms a basin, trapping the mineral; water evaporates, leaving the gypsum behind, and wind and weather erode it over time into an ocean of glittering sand. The entire dune field is a massive 275 square miles (by comparison, the second-largest gypsum dune field in the world, Cuatro Ciénegas in Mexico, is only 8 square miles). Hiking and sledding over this vast white expanse of powder is a singular, otherworldly experience.
State(s): New Mexico
Established: 1933
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Greetings from White Sands National Park
While making our way home to Illinois from Arizona we stopped at White Sands. What a delight. The soft sands of gypsum made the mounds a wonderful winter wonderland. Many had sleds. What a beautiful area.
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Greetings from White Sands National Park
The Giving Tree Band is a rock n roll band that are comprised of five musicians that are working their way around the National Park System, playing acoustically arranged songs in park settings to promote unity, harmony, and the well-being off all people and the planet. Further they are sharing…
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