Day 14 - Alamogordo NM to Las Cruces NM

A short drive from Alamogordo to our first stop: the White Sands National Monument. This is a 275 square mile area of desert made up of white gypsum sand. What a beautiful place! We drove through part of the area and took a hike of about an hour back into the dunes. The first picture shows some typical vegetation in the area. The second shows a bunch of kids pretending that it is really snow. We were fortunate to be there in the morning because the temperature was in the mid-60's. I'd hate to be in there if it were in the 90's. Next we drove through the White Sands Missile Range. We didn't take any hits. On to Las Cruces where we went to the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum. It told the story of 3,000 years of agriculture in the area through displays of animals, equipment, etc. We saw one guy give a demo on water dowsing. Then we saw a blacksmith turn a metal rod into an old style nail. Dorothy got to keep the nail as a souvenir. There is a beautiful cactus garden outside the museum and the last picture shows a cactus in bloom. A nice quiet but fun day.