White Sands National Monument

On January 07, 2015 I made a unscheduled stop at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico while on my Papa.Bravo.Fourteen road trip.

I was passing through the area on my way to Roswell, NM when I saw the signs for White Sands. I modified my route earlier and did not notice it would bring me near the White Sands area.

The entrance into the park was off of the highway I was 
traveling on.I figured I should take advantage of this opportunity while I was here because I did not know the next time I would be in that area again.
Just like most places I stopped at on this road trip, I thought I would visit for a few hours and then get back on the road.

Well, once again, nature surprised me with the amount of beauty it had to offer. What Sands is unlike any other place I have visited. 

It is very calm and peaceful, and depending on the winds and weather, the scenery can change or shift very quickly. 
The wind worn sands create unique and amazing lines in the landscape.

​The weather was warm that day and I even began to sweat at one point, but that could have been because I was running around like a crazy person taking pictures of everything. For those of you that don't know me, I take lots of pictures. Yea...I'm that guy.
I assume that What Sands does not have a lot tourists in December because there were very few people there, which made me happy.

It allowed me to take pictures of the area without having people in the shots. I'm sure the lack of people there also plaid into just how quiet it was.

As the sun was beating down on me while walking the dunes, I stopped and thought to myself, "Tatooine! I feel 
like I'm on Tatooine." Shortly after that, I set off to find Obi-Wan or at least get in a fist fight with some Tusken Raiders. Sadly, that did not happen.
As I left White Sands in the afternoon, I posted on Facebook that I was leaving. Lucky for me people who had been there before or lived in the area were following along on the road trip through social media.

They quickly told me to turn around and watch the sunset. They said it would be worth my time and I would be cheating myself out of a epic view if I did not go back.

If it would not have been for people telling me that, I
would have missed the best part of this amazing place. Thank you to everyone that insisted I turn around.
As I stood on the sand dune waiting for the sun to set, the winds picked up and the temperature began to drop. Lucky, I decided to put my jacket on before walking away from the FJ.

While standing there, I looked around and only saw one other person way off in the distance. From what I could tell, it was just me and this one other person there. We had the opportunity to see this once in a lifetime sunset, because of course, it would be different the next day.
I set up my GoPro and started taking picture. As soon as I turned it on, I notice the battery was very low.
This was the last picture I took before the battery in my GoPro died.

At first I was disappointed because I wanted to capture the sunset, but it allowed me to enjoy this experience uninterrupted. This might have been the most peaceful and beautiful experience I had on the road trip. For a brief second as the sun set behind a group of mountains, the sand glowed bright orange like it was on fire. 
Pictures don't do the beauty of the sunset any justice. It was a truly amazing. ​
Once the sun set, I walked back to the FJ and grabbed a new battery for the GoPro. What I did not release was the park closes at sunset that time of year.

I was fortunate enough to stay a few minutes past closing. The Ranger allowed me to get some pictures of the area and the FJ before I left.

I had a great time here. If you every get the opportunity to visit White Sands, please do. You wont regret it. Just be
sure to stay and watch the sunset and...maybe bring a jacket. 

​To learn more about White Sands National Monument, please click here: White Sands
*Papa.Bravo.Fourteen Road Trip, 2014*

Gallery

Video