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Part
One: New Mexico
White Sands
National Monument
I brought my family to New Mexico
and Texas
for our last summer trip before my kids go back to school after Labor Day
Weekend.
We first stopped at Alamogordo, a
small town in New Mexico approximately
90 minutes drive north of El
Paso, Texas.
The main attraction in Alamogordo is White Sands National
Monument located approximately 20 minutes
drive from downtown. The monument covers a big area but the section
reserved for visitors is limited to the northeast section of the park
encompassing vast white sand dunes, scenic drive, visitor
center and picnic area. The white sands in the park are powdery soft.
They reflect the heat pretty well leaving a relatively cool surface for
my kids to slide down the dunes for fun. We also joined Sunset Stroll
guided by a park ranger to get a better understanding of how the park was
formed and how the desert animals and plants can survive in such harsh
environment. We learned that one of the main “ingredients” for the white
sands park to be formed is the underneath clay layer holding off water.
Other major factors include, but not limit to, the basin topography, wind
and gypsum deposited at the bottom of an ancient shallow sea covering the
area approximately 250 million years ago.
When we watched documentary film about the White Sands
National Monument,
we were amazed to see the powdery sands move like the ocean waves under
the powerful winds. The white sand dunes in the park are still constantly
moving. That is the main reason why a section of the scenic drive is not
paved leaving room for future adjustments for dunes movement. It is not
surprised to learn native Indians already lived
in the area long time ago. One comment of an Indian girl caught my
attention: “My dad told me drinking water is abundant underneath the
white sands. We just have to know how to find it.”
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