In the Tularosa Basin, little past the city of Las Cruces stands White Sand Dunes National Monument. Las Cruces was one of the stops on the old El Camino Real trail and was named after the "crosses" on the graves of victims attacked by the Apaches during the Mexican War in 1849. Between Las Cruces and Alamogordo in Southern New Mexico is the largest white gypsum sand dunes in the world. It's so large, in fact, that US astronauts can view the wind blowing/expanding the size of the dunes from space! Apparently the dunes can get as large as the state of Oklahoma.
At the park entrance you can rent sleds to slide down the sand dune...which is what I did. But you can also get backcountry camping permits for $3.00/night. Just be warned that the backcountry sites are a good mile or so away from your car, so all tents/sleeping bags/lanterns need to be carried over blazing hot sand dunes before the sunsets.
One of my favorite parts of the White Sand Dunes is a tour the park rangers put on for guests in the evening called the "Sunset Stroll." We followed the park ranger to her favorite dunes, explaining why they form here, the importance of moisture, trade winds, and plant life to the ecosystem.
There is no feeling like being on top of a sand dune that stretches into a sea of smooth white hills, lit up by a purple, pink, and orange sunset. Simply amazing.
But the night was another story. In the distance lightning and a wind storm approached. I distinctly remember waking up at 2 a.m. to the sound of my tent flapping in the wind, as gusts pushed the inside of my entrance towards my face. Flashes of lightning above my head were terrifying...but all part of the experience. I was pretty sure the winds would pick me up and fly me across the dunes surrounding my campsite. But I stayed on...as John Muir once said, " I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in."
...and of course, the sunrise was amazing.
