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Again arriving before the monument opened, I was somewhat disappointed as I had gotten up early so I could get some pictures of the sunrise out in the White Sands. Oh well. I had to settle for some pictures by the side of the road.
After entering White Sands I head straight for the only hiking trail of any real distance in the park, the Alkali Flat Trail. Eventually the road turns to compacted sand, which I find out later is maintained by heavy equipment during the day as the sand is ever moving and trying to cover the road. I was the first to arrive at the trail so I had it all to myself. The trail is a little over a four mile loop and instead of being guided by signs or rock markings, there are tall posts stuck in the ground every 200 yards or so.
As soon as I stepped out on the sand I wish I would of brought a golf club and ball...now that would of made a great picture. Anyway the hike was absolutely like nothing I had ever experienced. There were plenty of sand dunes to climb and descend as the
hike was rarely flat for an extended period of time. Since there was NOBODY else out there, there were no planes flying from the nearby air force base, and very limited wildlife, if I stopped walking there was absolute silence. Yet again I was transported to a different world. Really relaxing.
After this hike I drive around and did the 1 mile Nature Trail that was set up to identify some of the plant life in White Sands. It was fairly informative.
After leaving the Los Cruces area, I start heading for Willcox, AZ on I 10. It was early afternoon when I was nearing Willcox and I had time to kill. Hmmm what to do? So I take a quick look at the map and locate Ft Bowie National Historic Site which is only a few miles off from I-10. Once I get off the highway I get on the 2 lane road which eventually leads to a dirt road which continues on for about a mile or so. All told it was only about 10 miles off the highway.
I soon realize that I would have a short 1.5 mile hike to the Fort. No
big deal, although it was pretty hot out by this point in the day so I'd definitely be able to work on my tan. The hike is fairly easy through a valley then slightly uphill to the Fort area. Along the way there are several areas that contain ruins. Also there was a cemetary, but I only found one original tombstone. Every one of these areas was marked by an informative sign which gave a lot of background information about the area.
As I reached the fort I was expecting to find only one building. However I soon find there were several buildings similiar to a small town. Pretty much the reason this fort was built was to protect the water supply nearby. Because of this water supply Apache Pass was established which brought settlers through the area so the fort was also there to protect travellers from the Apache Indians. The two main Indians that fought against the Americans were none other then Cochise and Geronimo.
The Butterfield Overland Mail Route also crossed the hiking trail. John Butterfield is the guy who coined the phrase "Remember boys, nothing on Gods green Earth must stop the US Mail.
This mail route starts in Memphis and ends in San Francisco. Hmmmm....another idea for a roadtrip possibly? But if you're in the area, I recommend checking this place out, its really interesting and worth the time.
A few more pictures this time...enjoy!
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