5in29: Day 11-12. White Sands
2024-12-21 ~ 12-22. White Sands, NM
We arrived at White Sands in the late after of December 21 to catch the sunset and revisited it the next day to catch sun rise and hike.
Special Moment #1: U.S. Army Missile
This is another old memory being updated. The photo on the left appeared on Page 95 of Las Crosses.
Special Moment #2: Cloudcroft
Cloudcroft was mentioned in Chapter 5 of Las Crosses. I forgot to mention in the book that Cloudcroft is part of the Lincoln National Forest.
I was able to find the spot where several photos were taken of me standing in the snow wearing shorts and a T-shirt.
This time, the snow was not as thick as the one in the old picture on Page 94. But, there was snow!
Special Moment #3: White Sands
December 1989, exactly 35 years ago, I went to White Sands with a group of friends. We drove around, parked the car by the road, and climbed to the top of the hills. One of the photos appeared on Page 94 of the memoir.
This time when we arrived in the afternoon, I found it to be a National Park! After passing the fee-collecting gate, we drove miles to get to the hills covered entirely by the white sands.
It is such a majestic place, that we decided to come back again the next day to explore the park further and do some hiking.
Attraction #1: The World’s Largest Pistachio
We saw the sign so many times along the highways that we had to make a stop in Alamogordo, New Mexico!
It is a farm with many pistachio trees. People could take a tour and have pistachio ice cream!
Attraction #2: Smokey Bear Historical Park
Smokey Bear’s pictures are everywhere if you pay attention to.
This place is where Smokey Bear was buried after he died at an old age.
He was found alive in a forest fair in his infancy. His paws were burned badly.
Van Life
After Googling, we found a nearby place for boondocking: Holloman Lake. It was a popular place with many campers.
