Clara's Cabin B & B Mayhill

Today, we went to White Sands National Monumment in Alamogordo, New Mexico. In the Visitor's Center, I met Ranger Mike. I became a Junior Ranger - again! I got a badge and a patch for being a Junior Ranger! We bought a sledding saucer and put wax on it. I tried it out, but didn't do it exactly right. I could have been faster down the dune. I only missed one question for ...

I got an early start today because the temp didn't fall too badly last night. It was 60 at 8:30, so I headed out for the White Sands Missile Range Museum which is about 50 miles away. It didn't take long to get there, the speed limit is 75mph almost all the way between here and there! My MC didn't get it's usual 50mpg on the trip there and back. I didn't take any pictures, because I had to actually go into the Missile Range through a checkpoint. I figured if I was going through a ...

I went to White Sands National Monument and Valley of Fires today. WSNM is a 275 sq mile area of gypsum that has been leached out of the surrounding mountains by being dissolved in water and washed down into the basin. The water evaporates, and leaves the gypsum behind. The gypsum breaks down, and becomes the white sand that covers this area. (This only took a few million years.) The road has to ...

I'm back to civilization and have my blog caught up. As you can see, I didn't make it all the way to Roswell, so the aliens won't get me yet. I am staying here for awhile so I can go to White Sands Missile Museum, White Sands Monument, and other stuff I ...

... as the VLA is probably one of the most incredible pieces of technology that I've ever stood witness to.

In a stretch of desert farther than they eye can see, and flatter than you thought possible on a round rock, lies a massive array of 200 ton satellites that take composite images of the farthest reaches of space. It's pretty awe inspiring to be ...

... s the kind of place that a frustrated writer might seek as a cure for writers block. There's a certain level of insanity that comes along with driving long distances through the middle of nowhere, and I've attained it. After a while the long flat roads through rural New Mexico turn your car into a nail and the road into a chalkboard. The day I got into Cloudcroft, I went to bed. The next day was quite nice. It was a good time to relax as there isn't ...

I picked up a national parks pass when I visited Canyonlands in Utah. So I'm doing my best to visit as many as I can on this trip. White Sands National Monument is a very unique place. I've visited several parks with dune fields like Death Valley, Mohave, and even Mexico but this place is amazing! This sand is not your typical quartz mix, but pure white gypsum crystals. Along with the brilliant ...

Yesterday it rained. How dare it! That was the third time in 5 weeks that we have had to suffer rain. Shocking stuff! Actually, it was very strange for the landscape to be draped in dreary grey and for our mountain views to be obscured by clouds. Luckily, it doesn't last long. By the time we had driven from Roswell, past the ski resorts and such delights as the "Inn of the Mountain Gods Hotel and Casino ...

My busy day began with a visit to the White Sands Missile Range on the other side of the cloud covered Organ mountain. There is a missile park/museum open to the public, which contained over 50 rockets/missiles tested at the facility. You can park your car at the front gate and walk to the park/museum (1/2 block away). The only restriction was that all photos had to be taken with the Organ mountains in the background...no ...

Big Bend, TX to Roswell, NM 2805 miles, pressure 701 mmHg I woke up today and decided it was time to move on. I got in my land ship and headed north. I heard if I went west, I'd be stuck back in Mexico. My ship cruised out of the mountains and into the plains again. I quickly became bored with the landscape until I saw a sign with some sort of crazy ship on ...