White Sands National Park? Read this entry and find out what my family and I did at this fascinating destination!
Day 13:
My eyes fluttered open at 8:40, to the sound of food being cooked, and my family getting ready. We all brushed our teeth and ate breakfast. Today we ate some chocolate brioches with some tea and biscuits; our meal was fantastic as always! We had eaten outside because the temperature was amazing. It was not too hot, nor too cold; the sun was shining brightly; the sky was clear as ever; the view was unbelievable. Our campsite in Alamogordo, New Mexico was right at the foothills of some mountains, and the sight was simply stunning. The dark brown mountains and the bright blue sky contrasted - forming a picturesque scene.
As we were finishing up our breakfast, we started to pack away easy-to-break items, and began driving to White Sands National Park - a short, 14-mile, ride to the whitest sand I had ever seen. We arrived, and I could have sworn that my jaw had actually dropped. The view was incredible: large white sand dunes were all I could see; the dazzling sky complimenting the shining sand. The sand was so bright with the sun gleaming off of it that I thought I was in an edited photo!
After entering the national park, we headed to a parking lot and got out. We took a bunch of photos -enough for a lifetime- with the beautiful scenery. In some of them, we wore our masks, to remind us of this crazy pandemic. We attempted to sled down the snow-look-alikes, but didn’t get far because our ‘sleds’ were a plastic lid and half of a cardboard box. In spite of not being able to sled, my brother and I found that running down the dunes was equally as fun. Everyone had a blast, and Bullet was actually having a ball. He had no idea what the sand was, and -at first- kept trying to eat it, but eventually he understood, and he loved walking around and playing in the fine granular texture.
Still in the park, we drove to a hiking path -a five mile loop- called the ‘Alkali Trail’ and began a 5-mile, strenuous voyage through the white-sands. In the beginning, we took many pictures, but made sure to stay away from the public. Luckily, the farther into the trail we got, the less and less people there were…and there weren’t many to begin with.
As we started the hike, it was extremely difficult. It was like with every two steps we went forward - we would fall a step behind. Once we got the hang of climbing the dunes, we continued our expedition and took many pictures of the unfathomably pleasant view.
When we reached the half-way point of the loop, the sand dunes seemed to have disappeared, and there was only flat-land for miles until it reached the base of towering mountains. Honestly, I could have believed someone if they said we were not on Earth anymore because the experience was just that good.
Off in the distance, we could make out a building and a small tower that appeared to be used for military purposes. Intriguing!
As we continued hiking, we were getting closer and closer to the end, and everyone was hot and tired, so we decided to take off our shoes and walk in the soft sand. Best idea ever! It was so much fun walking barefoot in the sand dunes. The sand was cold -but not uncomfortable-, and it felt amazing on my feet, especially after the hard hike behind us.
At last, we finished the hike, and were just mesmerized by the beauty of the park. We compared it to Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado (that we had gone to last year), but the two had very different charms.
We finished our hike and went back to our RV to clean up. Fortunately, the white sand was really easy to clean off -even off of Bullet!
After we were cleaned up, we started the generator and heated up some khichdi from the night before to have for lunch. We ate khichdi with some chips, and I also drank some coca cola. Boy was that delicious!
Post clean up, we commenced driving again and headed to Willcox, Arizona. Wow, I cannot believe we are already across the United States! What an adventure!
We drove for about four hours until we got to a gas station which was right outside our KOA. Everyone was hungry, and there was a Popeyes right by the gas station. Since it was too tempting to resist, my mom went over and bought some biscuits, fries, and of course their specialty fried chicken. We waited till we got to the campground, and made some potato sandwiches to eat with the food.
It was amazing eating the oil-filled, unhealthy food, and we knew not to feel guilty about it because of our hike earlier.
We were so full after eating, that all we wanted to do was wind-down and sleep. I took Bullet out one last time and came inside before changing into comfy pajamas and calling it a day. I wonder what adventure is waiting for us tomorrow!
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