Road Trip 2025: Day 21

Mooing woke me up this morning. Actually, it kept me up for most of the night, as did the traffic I could clearly hear from the main road. The cows seemed to like our campsite. They kept circling back to it. Even as I was stuffing my sleeping bag into its sack, a cow walked by brushing against the tent. Ahhhh…these small prices we pay for free camping. While Kati was washing her hair, a black cow wandered over as if to check out what she was doing.

It never rained last night. Not even a drizzle. The storm moved close enough that while we were in our tents we heard thunder, but it passed us by. We were lucky because by the looks of the clouds and the violence of the lightning, it would have clobbered us.

White Sands National Park—unlike Petrified Forest—is exactly what it sounds like. Miles and miles and miles—275 square miles to be exact—of white sand. It is the largest gypsum dune-field in world. I am definitely sensing a theme. The southwest seems to contains many things that are the largest in the world.

Millions of years ago, the Permian Sea retreated. In its wake, it left behind layers of gypsum—a mineral. Overtime, as the mountains formed, the layers of gypsum rose. Then, following the Ice Age, the glaciers melted and the resulting water dissolved the gypsum. As time wore on, sun and wind, with the assistance of shallow lakes began separating the water from the mineral. This process produced selenite crystals, which became sand once the elements smashed them into smaller pieces.  Beneath the white sand dunes there is a layer of water that keeps the dunes moist, even during periods of little or no rain.

Gypsum dunes tend to be cooler and firmer than dunes you see at the beach. Because of this, you can go sledding without worrying too much about erosion. And that’s exactly what we did today. We went sledding in 100 degree heat and we—especially G3—had a blast. We were out all afternoon, baking in the sun but it was worth it. It definitely was a welcome change from our usual activities—hikes and scenic drives—at national parks. We were able to rent a wooden sled in the gift shop to share. G3 enjoyed racing down the dunes. He got a running start, sprinting up to the board, and then flinging his body down on it. His picked up great speed and distance. There was an option to rent circular plastic sleds, the ones kids often use in the snow, but no one who had those was able to slide down the dunes. They created too much friction. It seems wrong and unethical that the National Park sells and offers them as a rental option. Kids on the plastic sleds looked at G3 with a great deal of jealousy. And yes, I also went sledding—you know I am a child at heart—as did Kati. If you are ever in or near New Mexico, I highly recommend a detour to White Sands just to go sledding.

And sledding is all you need to do to feel as if you’ve seen and experienced the park. I did the one mile nature walk because I alway want to do and see as much as possible, but the nature walk was more of the same—lots of sand surrounded by mountains in the distance. It was pretty. And aside of the bright blinding sun and melting temperatures, it did look an awful lot like snow. However, my pavlovian response,

after being on the sand all day, was a desperate need to dive into the ocean. Unfortunately, we are a long way from any big open body of water.

Surrounding the park is the White Sands Missile Range, where the United States military conducts missile tests. The land is also used for other military activities. In fact, the Interdune Board walk is closed due

to an Air Force ‘mishap.’ As soon as we got to the visitors’ center, Kati inquired as to what exactly the national park website meant by mishap. Well, in April of 2024, an F-16 airplane crashed. While all the debris has been cleared, the recovery process is still underway.

White Sands became a National Monument in 1933. It was one of Hoover’s last acts as president. In 2019, Trump signed legislation that included a provision to change White Sands’ designation from a monument to a park. Nine years after Hoover created the monument, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order to create the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range. Once that order was signed, the military started practicing inside the monument’s boarders. Three years later, the military began testing missiles and occasionally closing the national monument to do so. They still do this today. The Trinity site, where the first nuclear weapon was tested, is at the northern most point of the missile range. Following World War II, the missile range was renamed White Sands Missile Range.

We have crossed into Texas. No, Texas was not on our original itinerary, but changing things up keeps life interesting. (Bonus points for anyone who can guess—knowing G3’s quest and my interests—what prompted us to hit the Lone Star State.) We are camping at Guadalupe Mountains National Park. En route from White Sands, we passed through El Paso where we stopped at Lucy’s Cafe for dinner and had some decent Mexican food..

Twice today, once in New Mexico and once in Texas, we passed through Homeland Security checkpoints. We stopped and the guards asked us if we were American citizens. Now who would answer that question in the negative? Kati—the driver—responded yes, and they waved us on. No follow-up question. No request for ID. However, I am certain if one of us was several shades darker, or spoke with an accent, we’d have been scrutinized. This was undoubtedly an exercise in racial profiling and I find it offensive. I carry no proof of my citizenship. It is not required in America—at least not for white people. Needing to carry papers feels very fascist and racist to me. At the second checkpoint, the driver in front of us immediately handed over documentation, and they held him longer than us. I am willing to bet he did not look like me.

We crossed into Central Time. So instead of arriving at the campground at 8:20, as we expected, we arrived at 9:20. The sun had long since set, so we got to set up in the dark. The moon is providing enough light for me to see two towering mountain peaks behind our tents. The cicadas or crickets are loud and soothing. They will ensure I sleep well. And the stars are starting to peek out between the clouds.