I have wanted to go to White Sands National Monument for some time now, and this weekend was it. White Sands has been described as gorgeous, surreal, other-worldly. Of course it is. It is white, or nearly so. It is very, very bright, and the reflected light makes it very hot. It looks a lot like snow. People have said that it is odd to see a white landscape and not feel cold. Like any landscape or natural phenomenon, it must be experienced to understand its impact.
On the way back home, we stopped at the Valley of Fire Recreation Area in Carizozo, and experienced the opposite landscape. The landscape is black. But like White Sands, it is also very hot, but with absorbed heat. It is also gorgeous, surreal, and other-worldly. It is also a place that is impossible to capture with photos.
I will have to put this on the list. We went to Sand Dunes N.P. in Colorado several years ago. This child of the ocean kept climbing over the dunes expecting to see the ocean, only to see more dunes.
ReplyDeleteGlad you saw some new places in NM.
ReplyDeleteWhite Sands at night under a full moon is the opposite effect - brrr (at least in Sept) - but amazing in the reflected moonlight.