Doug Kerr
Well-known member
Our route into Alamogordo, New Mexico is via US 82. It climbs lowly up the east face of the Sacramento Mountains to the little ski village of Cloudcroft, New Mexico ((8,600 feet/2,600 m), and then descends at a terrifying grade to intersect US 70 just north of Alamogordo (at about 4300 feet).
About 1/4 of the way down the road goes through a short tunnel, and just beyond is an overlook - a spot where one can park at the side of the road to take in the view.
The is a little path that goes to a small rock ledge about 5 feet below the parking lot. Carla went down to it. She reported that at its edge there was a sheer drop into the deep valley. Not for me.
Douglas A. Kerr: Carla on the Tunnel Overlook ledge
Here is the view (320 mm full-frame 35-mm equivalent focal length) from the overlook:
Douglas A. Kerr: View from the Tunnel Overlook
At the bottom of the view through the notch we see the northernmost fringes of Alamogordo. But beyond (near the top of the frame - almost looks like a cloud layer) we see a small part of the vast expanse of the White Sands Dune Field. (The near edge is about 12 miles beyond the buildings we see.)
The sand here is not the familiar silica sand, but instead comprises small spherical particles of gypsum (calcium sulfate dihydrate, CaSO4·2H2O). (I'll discuss the process of formation in a later report.)
The entire field has an area of about 275 mi² (710 km²)
Just south of Alamogordo is the White Sands National Monument. It includes an 8 mile (13 km) road out into the dunes.
I don't have any shots from our first visit that really show groups of dunes - I'll do some of that later. But here we see Carla on one of the dunes near the road:
Douglas A. Kerr: Carla on a dune
Often kids slide down the dunes on plastic disks or even sheets of cardboard. Here we see one dune, not too far from the road, that has recently seen a lot of that action:
Douglas A. Kerr: Slide tracks
It's a fantastic, other-worldly place.
We'll do a lot more there when we get moved in.
Best regards,
Doug
About 1/4 of the way down the road goes through a short tunnel, and just beyond is an overlook - a spot where one can park at the side of the road to take in the view.
The is a little path that goes to a small rock ledge about 5 feet below the parking lot. Carla went down to it. She reported that at its edge there was a sheer drop into the deep valley. Not for me.
Douglas A. Kerr: Carla on the Tunnel Overlook ledge
Here is the view (320 mm full-frame 35-mm equivalent focal length) from the overlook:
Douglas A. Kerr: View from the Tunnel Overlook
At the bottom of the view through the notch we see the northernmost fringes of Alamogordo. But beyond (near the top of the frame - almost looks like a cloud layer) we see a small part of the vast expanse of the White Sands Dune Field. (The near edge is about 12 miles beyond the buildings we see.)
The sand here is not the familiar silica sand, but instead comprises small spherical particles of gypsum (calcium sulfate dihydrate, CaSO4·2H2O). (I'll discuss the process of formation in a later report.)
The entire field has an area of about 275 mi² (710 km²)
Just south of Alamogordo is the White Sands National Monument. It includes an 8 mile (13 km) road out into the dunes.
I don't have any shots from our first visit that really show groups of dunes - I'll do some of that later. But here we see Carla on one of the dunes near the road:
Douglas A. Kerr: Carla on a dune
Often kids slide down the dunes on plastic disks or even sheets of cardboard. Here we see one dune, not too far from the road, that has recently seen a lot of that action:
Douglas A. Kerr: Slide tracks
It's a fantastic, other-worldly place.
We'll do a lot more there when we get moved in.
Best regards,
Doug