We started the day going to the new Organ Mountains -Desert Peaks National Monument. The Organ Mountains dominate the city of Las Cruces. After stopping at the Visitor Center, we took a short hike on one of the trails. The views from the trail were wonderful.
View of the Organ Mountains
View from the trail
Linda on the trail
After we left Organ Mountains, we went to White Sand National Park. The park is right in the middle of the US Army’s Missile Range. The range has a long history and was used during WWII to train pilots in dropping munitions. White Sand is a new National Park, but it was a National Monument formed in 1933. The sand is a white gypsum unlike any other sand. As we drove out to the dunes, it was just like driving in a snowstorm.
The Dunes
The Dunes with the mountains behind.
After we left the dunes we drove to Alamogordo, NM for lunch and then visited Pistachioland, a true tourist trap, home of the world’s largest pistachio, we did not take a picture. After the trap, we drove to Carlsbad, NM. The drive was through the mountains as was quite beautiful. Tomorrow, is Carlsbad Caverns.