Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites Alamogordo

... Junior Ranger packet. <br><br>We ate a Golden Corral. At 7pm, we went on a sunset stroll with Ranger Mike. He had me answer some of the questions, because he knew that I would get the answers right. We saw footprints from animals. Some I could identify, but some I couldn't. <br><br>We drove home with the top down and it started to rain. Mamaw didn't want to put the top up!

We drove down to the White Sands National Park, which is miles of pure white sand dunes. It is really hot and blinding white, and so its quite hard to take photos and not squint when smiling! <br><br>We have now driven up to Albuquerque and will explore tomorrow. <br><br>PS we are still picking good motels, one night we were kept ...

Surprise Mogollon Petroglyphs... I stumbled upon these in an area called Three Rivers in Eastern New Mexico. The red petroglyphs were in Gila National Park near the cliff dwellings.<br><br>More on my trip website

... for the program that he did when he was a young man. It was so awesome to be able to listen to him talk! Again, I can't believe my luck in being there when he was and being able to shake his hand. Oh, the museum is very good too. I took a ride to Cloudcroft which is about 20 miles from Alamogordo and also about a mile higher in elevation. It's a beautiful ride up to Cloudcroft, about 20 degrees cooler also. Tomorrow, I am going to Roswell, yes, really I am. I will try to report.

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

... terribly much to do in the area other than visit the desert. Going down the mountain and into the desert is rather inspiring, the views are really spectacular. And going into the desert the pavement ends, so as you well know, it was right up my alley. I decided to go on a hike in the desert on one of the trails. I was slightly discouraged when the park guide told me about the two Japanese people who during a hike on a windy afternoon, got lost and ...

... how glowing with radiation the area still is - we missed our chance to visit the Trinity Site. It is open just two days a year and one of those opportunities was the day before yesterday. Anyway, we could still get a good idea of the terrifying might of the US military by visiting the Missile Range. 40 miles across and 100 miles from top to bottom, this test site is still used by the US army, navy and ...

... 89 at Sunflower had collapsed in a rock slide and we had been over that road less than a week earlier. This is rugged country and the feel of 'wilderness' and 'frontier' are never far away. The vast uninhabited spaces and the barren landscape with scanty vegetation are a reminder of the struggle that the early settlers must have had just to survive in this country. Even today, supplies and medical care are not just around the corner ...

... we chatted. She offered us things for the road, but we didn't need anything. The car is not a full capacity, and I like it like that. I can still see out the back window perfectly, everything necessary is within an arms reach (Megan's, usually), and it all fits perfectly together. Once we left Forth Worth, we headed for Snyder, Texas. This is where things got a little hairy. I have never seen anything quite like west Texas. Nothing for miles and miles around, except ...

... Rather, it terminates in the Okavango Delta. Also, in Namibia, Dead Vlei and Sussos Vlei were formed by water run-off that stops in the desert dunes. This park is also formed from water run off that pools, evaporates and leaves the gypsum residue from the mountains. The wind blows he crystals around "cleaning" them and making them turn a brilliant white: ala...White Sands.