Interdune Boardwalk Trail

"Anything that lives where it would seem that nothing could live, enduring extremes of heat and cold, sunlight and storm, parching aridity and sudden cloudbursts, among burnt rocks and shifting sands, any such creature, beast, bird, or flower, testifies to the grandeur and heroism inherent in all forms of life. Including the human. Even in us." -Edward Abbbey

The bumpy stuff is cyanobacteria which adds nutrients to the soil and helps plants grow, so don't step on it.

You can rent sand boards and go sledding. 

Backpacking White Sands

We backpacked into the dunes where there are 10 primitive sites.  They are first-come-first-serve, and you have to go back to the visitor center each day to check if they are doing missile testing the next day and it's safe to camp.  I was also handed a brochure with pictures of missles that said DON'T TOUCH. 

These dunes have depressions where we can camp.  We got #10 the first night; I liked that spot. 

You're supposed to camp near the marker. 

We explored our surrounding dunes and found a lizard. 

 Like my hole? It' pack-in-pack-out, except for one thing. 

I forgot Tahoe's sleeping mat that night, so he hogged my mattress.  He also managed to pee on his jacket, and it smelled awful, so we had to improvise the rest of the trip.  It turns out we have the same shirt size. 

Dune Life Nature Trail

Few National Monuments allow dogs on the trails, and that's one of the reasons I like White Sands N.M. so much.  That and the beautiful white sand.  Tahoe loves running on dunes.   

The dunes cover 275 square miles in New Mexico's Tularosa Basin.  It's the world's largest gypsum dune field. 

The sand is really, really soft, unlike beach sand. 

Rockhound State Park

It’s Spring Break 2012, and Tahoe and I road-tripped to New Mexico, beginning with Rockhound State Park.

We hiked the Jasper Trail. This is one of the rare trails where you are encouraged to look and take rocks home with you. I found a nice piece of brown jasper.

 

The scenic trail rambled through prickly pear, yucca and held outstanding views of their signature cliffs.
 

That night turned out to be my favorite sunset.