White Sands Missile Range

Covering 3200 square miles of south central New Mexico, the White Sands Missile Range dwarfs and envelops the White Sands National Park and is the largest military installation in the United States. After walking the white dunes of the White Sands National Park we set up camp at the base of the Organ Mountains and it turned out we were just down the road from the museum at the White Sands Missile Range. The next day we went down to base headquarters, passed our security check and were granted access to walk to the free museum near the base entrance.

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White Sands National Park

After our day at Guadalupe Mountains National Park we started moving in a westward direction for the remainder of our southwest tour, until it was time to turn north for home. As we started back west, the next stop on the list was White Sands National Park. White Sands only became a national park in 2019 but was designated as a national monument way back in 1933. The main feature of the park are the white sand dunes, the largest gypsum dune field in the world.

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Guadalupe Mountains National Park

After our day underground at the Carlsbad Caverns it was time to get back out into the sunshine. Before heading out on this trip I had never heard of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. After studying the map, we were going to be too close not to go, and it was a very pleasant surprise. We were a few days into December but the fall colors were on full display in Pine Spring Canyon as we hiked up to the Devil’s Hall.

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