Alamogordo

We had a lovely Easter here in Alamogordo! Yesterday morning dawned bright and sunny and both boys were happy to find that the Easter Bunny found his way to us here in New Mexico. After a lively hunt, which involved finding eggs in the trailer, outside in the bins and trees, and even in the van, we headed to Mass at a nearby parish. After Mass, we headed up the mountain to 9200 feet for an Easter buffet in Cloudcroft.
The buffet was wonderful and the views along the way were spectacular! Initially, the boys started the day feeling a little homesick, but after being asked to participate in another Easter egg hunt and both finding a golden egg worth money in the gift shop, they both seemed to feel much better!

After a quick change back at the trailer and some Skype with family, we headed out to the White Sands National Monument. For those of you unfamiliar with White Sands, it is a massive (275 square miles) area of white sand dunes in the middle of the Tularosa Basin. Geologists estimate that the dunes are about 10, 000 years old. Apparently, years ago the area experienced significant precipitation which leached the gypsum rock out of the nearby mountains and formed a huge lake in the middle of the basin. The lake was really a supersaturated solution of dissolved gypsum rock and water and when the climate suddenly changed, evaporation slowly removed the water and crystallized gypsum was all that was left. Since the area has very high winds, the crystals were quickly broken down into sand and the dunes were created. The site was certainly something to behold. As suggested by the locals, we arrived at about 4:30pm and spent some time with the kids sledding down the dunes on waxed toboggans. As usual, Riley tried some great tricks, but soon learned that face-planting into sand is not very fun! After that adventure, we headed out for a ranger lead walk across the dunes and learned about the area. Our walk ended in time for a brilliant White Sands sunset. Since the dunes are located directly between two mountain ranges, when the sun starts to set, it initially throws light onto the Eastern range bathing the mountains in pinks and purples, and then when it finally drops below the Western horizon, the other range is bathed in orange and red. It was an awesome sight and is certainly something we will never forget!

Today, we spent the morning completing a 3 ½ mile hike up a mountain at Oliver Lee State Park. It was hot, but the Yucca’s are in bloom and the view from the top was lovely. After that we visited the Space Museum and were excited to learn more about space exploration and how the White Sands area has played a role (the shuttle Columbia once landed here!). Tonight, we have been joined by my dad and the kids are enjoying some time with their granddad. It is not until family arrives that we realize how much we miss everyone. We will certainly enjoy his company for the next 10 days. Tomorrow, we head for Rock Hound State Park where Braedon will indulge his love of geology. We are looking forward to having our first real campfire (anything other than a grill fire has been banned until now) and some time to explore the area.

Tammy