Whenever I set my heart on a place I want to visit I always seem to make it there, whether it's Australia, Cuba, Ethiopia, Zion National Park, or wherever. Someway, somehow, I always find my way. Today, Brian and I would make it to White Sands, a place I set my heart on last year. It was difficult leaving Kaitlyn and her loving family this morning but I made sure to write them a thank you note and put it on their fridge. What an amazing family they are; I can't stop talking about them! As we drove through Alamogordo we converged upon white sand on the side of the road and we knew we were near White Sands National Monument. A large storm cloud came overhead, meaning it wouldn't be extremely hot but the photos wouldn't turn out as well as if it were sunny. Somehow we missed the entrance so we had to turn around and go through a checkpoint, only to be asked "Are you a U.S. citizen?" The area is only a few dozen miles from the Mexican border. First we stopped at the Visitor Centre where I mailed myself a postcard and Brian got his friend a bracelet. There is a national park "passport" that you can buy and get stamped at each national park but I opted to stamp my real passport. Upon paying the $3 entrance fee we were off to the white sand. Brian opted to take a nap whilst I went for a hike. White Sands is extremely unusual due to the sand being made of gypsum, which is water-soluble. The Tularosa Basin has no outlet to the sea or any rivers, therefore the sand and anything dissolved by the rain is trapped within the basin. Peacefully I strolled across the white sand as a dark grey storm cloud hovered. As I meditated I look supersized in the middle of the desert!
Serenity & peacefulness go hand in hand here. For awhile I sat there, sometimes with my eyes closed and other times gazing at the sand ripples, knowing a storm could hit at any moment. Plus, I felt bad about leaving Brian sitting in the car. I snapped several more photos as I made my way toward the car park. This area looks flat but the sand is about 20 feet higher than the greenery.
My time at White Sands was limited to only about a half hour but I set my heart on getting here and I got here, and I'll definitely go back! And I even brought some white sand to take home with me.
