Hey hey USA - 18th October - White Sands National Park
When I was young I saw a picture of the dunes at White Sands in a book about the formation of landscapes. Ever since then I have had an ambition to go there. The site just looked so other worldly that I found it inspirational. So when I knew we were going to New Mexico this was number one on the bucket list. We drove east from Las Cruces. The road goes across the Chihuanuan desert and the Sands are situated in the Tularosa basin, a plain between the San Andres Mountains to the west and the Sacramento Mountains to the east. The whole of the White Sands area covers 275 square miles and can be seen from space. Much of the Sands are used by the US missile base and are strictly out of bounds. It was here, north of the National Park that the first atom bomb was tested on the Trinity Site. Maps courtesy of the National Park As you come in past the visitor centre nothing looks very impressive at first sight. We obtained a copy of the trail map and started with the Dune Life Nature Trail ...