We didn’t have to get up too early for our visit to White
Sands National Monument because it doesn’t open until after sunrise.
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| Miles and miles of white, white sand |
And, that’s the issue with White Sands. In order to protect
the dunes and the wildlife, the gates are open only during daylight hours. The
only exception is for campers. But, camping is backcountry undeveloped areas in
sand. That’s not my idea of fun camping – although it might be worth it during
warmer evenings just to see what creeps around at night.
Apparently, increasingly problematic alcohol abuse by students on spring break led to an alcohol ban in the monument from February to May. So, that could be a clue to why the Park closes at night, as well.
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| A pretty juxtaposition with the mountains |
Unlike most deserts, White Sands dunes are not composed of quartz. Instead, they are primarily of gypsum and calcium sulfate, which have a high rate of surface moisture evaporation. This, and the fact that the sand reflects, rather than absorbs, the sun's rays make the sand cool to the touch. For a Floridian used to a hot summer beach day, that's just weird.
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| A morning pose; Photo by Caty Stevens |
When we climbed up a dune barefoot (the easiest way to do it while carrying heavy cameras), my feet almost froze. I kept standing on one foot so that the sun could warm the other one. I think that sand was about 40 degrees or colder.
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| Caty |
Gypsum is one of the most common mineral compounds found on Earth, but is rarely seen on the surface because it dissolves very easily.
The origin of White Sands dates back to around 100 million years ago when the area was covered by a shallow ocean that contained gypsum.
The mountains that border White Sands -- the Sacramento and San Andres Mountains -- formed approximately 70 million years ago when giant upheavals in the Earth's crust distorted the land. This forced the gypsum deposits high into the air.
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| A photographer's dream |
Rainfall and meltwater came from the mountains causing the gypsum to percolate out and the concentrated solutions were washed down the mountainsides. The gypsum solution accumulated in Lake Lucero, the lowest part of the Tularosa Basin, where White Sands sits.
Water in the lake could escape only by evaporating, which left behind thin layers of crystallized gypsum, or selenite. Weathering reduced these crystals to fine, sandy grains.
Winds then carried the grains farther up the basin, and the grains piled in steep dunes that reached as high as 50 feet. The winds carved more dunes and, while at the same time, carrying small amounts of the gypsum grains up to 30 feet further a year.
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| Mostly sand, with just a smattering of plants |
This constant movement still occurs today, and with the added alkaline and scant rainfall makes it difficult for plants to grow, leaving the desert desolate as it appears today.
White Sands is lovely – extremely white against distant mountains. It was bit hazy the morning we went, so the full effect was a bit muted. Also, I don't have a polarizing filter for my camera. It would have really helped at White Sands.
The brochures recommend that you go early in the morning so that the dunes will be free of footprints, which are allegedly erased by night breezes. Well, it must have been very still the night before because there were still lots of footprints and slide prints (people “sled” down the dunes).
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| Wind-driven patterns |
But, there are many other advantages to being among the first in the Park; it's very quiet; it's not yet scorchingly hot; you can drive slowly to look for animals (you won't find them, but you can try!); and parking is a breeze.
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| Footprints |
That's my car below the dune we climbed up. I sure hope I parked appropriately in the space! By the way, most of those footprints are NOT ours.
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| Ripples |
We did find some untouched
dunes, with interesting ripples and patterns. When we drove in, some of the unpaved parts of the road were
very washboarded and we noticed big scooped mounds of sands along the edges
that we assumed had been scraped off the road and put on the side.
Later,
we encountered heavy equipment doing the opposite – scraping sand OFF the dunes
and spreading it on the road to make the dive smoother. Aha!
We drove around a bit and walked up one tall dune. Then, we walked on the 0.4-mile-long Interdune Boardwalk, a fully accessible elevated boardwalk about 4.5 miles from the Entrance Station. It is made of trex-type material and can be very slippery. So, if you go, watch your step. And, it's so dry that clutching the handrail can result in a nasty shock.
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| Boardwalk |
The Interdune Boardwalk crosses a fragile area to a scenic view of the dunefield and the Sacramento mountains.
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| A message in the sand |
Of course, the idea to to STAY on the boardwalk to protect the environment. That makes it very disturbing to see footprints in the sand and -- even worse -- messages spelled out on the dunes. Fortunately, the wind can erase those scars quickly.
But, constant tramping on these dunes could stunt the few plants that manage to grow there, which could alter the ecosystem. And, you have free access to the dunes just a bit farther down the road! so, there is no need to disobey the rules.
People! Stay on the boardwalk.
There are 10 outdoor exhibits along the boardwalk that cover the geography, geology and wildlife. I wish we could have seen this lizard with the three-mile-long head!
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| The signs say there are animals (mostly nocturnal when the Park is closed) |
What about animals? We really wanted to see some birds, lizards,
foxes, kangaroo rats and whatever else might happen by. But, during the bright,
sunny daylight hours, that doesn’t usually happen.
We did see some interesting tracks that turned out to be a a variety of mice, a Greater Roadrunner and beetles.
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| Tracks |
We saw three different birds
in the dunefield – a Black-throated Sparrow way far away on a bush ...
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| Desert bird |
Some Long-tailed
Grackles (that landed in the most backlit spot they could) ...
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| Dark against the deep blue sky |
... and a Say’s Phoebe
(which I could now recognize immediately) ...
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| A pretty bird |
We also encountered a small Desert Cottontail – possibly a
baby – in the parking lot ...
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| A cutie |
And lots of other birds ...
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| White-crowned Sparrows |
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| House Sparrows |
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| A female House Finch |
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| A gorgeous Audubon’s Yellow-rumped Warbler |
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| And many, many, many Barn Swallows |
It’s amazing how your attention changes once you get
interested in photographing every single thing that walks upon the Earth!
Since it is spring, we also saw flowers both in and
immediately outside the park.
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| Lots of color |
We took another drive in to get some more time in the dunes. The first part of the drive is a "safety corridor," where you are not allowed to stop or park.
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| Not exactly leafy |
The front area has a great deal more vegetation than further back into the dunefield. Plants stabilize the leading edges of the dunes and provide food and shelter for wildlife. Early human inhabitants also made extensive use of the dunefield's native plant life for food, shelter, cloth and even medicine.
The alkaline soil of the dunefield has few nutrients. Therefore, only the hardiest plant species of the Chihuahuan Desert grow there. Plants must be drought tolerant and able to survive in temperatures that range from sub-freezing to three digits, depending on the season. Many plants barely tolerate the sand's high salt concentrations, while others (known as gypsophiles) thrive in those conditions.
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| Interesting shadow |
Plants include cacti and desert succulents that store water through the hot summers and dry winters.
Alkali sacaton and Indian rice grass provide for many tiny animals, including Apache Pocket Mice and Kangaroo Rats. Rodents gather and store dried protein-rich grass seed kernels. Native Americans wove mats with the thicker blades of grass and gathered and ate some grass seeds.
The trees and shrubs in the dunes have exceptionally tall trunks and stems designed to keep leaves in the sunlight above the shifting sands.
The White Sands gypsum dunefield is 275 square miles in size, but there is only an eight-mile scenic drive (Dunes Drive).
There are exhibits, hiking trails, picnic areas, vault toilets and parking areas along the route.
The first five miles of Dunes Drive are paved and the last three miles are a hard-packed gypsum sand road. There are frequent signs warning drivers to stay on the road. As if you could drive on those dunes and not get stuck!
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| Dunes |
White Sand abuts the White Sand Missile Range and occasionally the road between White Sands and Las Cruces and the Dunes Drive close during a missile test. There are also warnings that it is possible to find dangerous debris from missile tests.
Every brochure and article we read stressed how easy it is to get lost once you enter the dunefield. We chose not to hike too far beyond the car.
Before we left, we picnicked at one
of the iconic shelters ...
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| A cool vibe |
... which have changed little since my first visit in 1958!
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| That's our car |
You can learn more about the park in my earlier blog here.
Trip date: April 6-10, 2017
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