White Sands National Monument

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Alarms went off at 5:30 didn’t get out of bed until 6. Tarragon didn’t want to get up at all, he as very comfortable between us on the king size bed (which he does not sleep on at home). Breakfast was included with the room, but we already had decided to go to a place called A Bite of Belgium and had reservations for 8 am. Kitty got to sleep a bit longer before the day of travel.

Yes, I know that a Belgian breakfast place is not very Southwest, but they did have huevos rancheros on the menu. We did not order anything remotely southwestern. Jerry had a Belgian Breakfast Brioche, an open face sandwich with a Belgian style omelet topped with freshly carved ham and melted gouda. I had the waffles & omelet, the omelet was the same as Jerry’s but I also got to Belgian waffles, served with a banana cream. Both were very good and a nice change of pace from the hotel breakfast.

After breakfast a quick stop at the ATM for cash and back to the room to load up and head out for White Sands National Monument. We needed gas, but forgot to do it when we were in Las Cruces and already on our way. We passed one station but did not stop because the sign said diesel and nothing about gas so we drove right by. Not a good choice. We did pull over and asked Siri and google maps for the nearest gas station, she prompted us to one 16 miles ahead. Unfortunately, this was in fact the middle of the White Sands Missile Range Army Base. Surprisingly they didn’t let us in, can you imagine. The base guard did point us back towards Las Cruces for the nearest station, yes, the one we drove right by.

So, after our brief adventure and fully gassed up, we were back on route. It did however, add an extra 45 minutes to Tarragon’s travel time. White Sands National Park is actually in the middle of the White Sands Missile Range, yes where the tested nuclear bombs and still launch missile practice. We probably glow in the dark now. On the way to the park, we had to go through a border patrol station. We have seen others on this trip but this was the first we had to stop. It wasn’t much of a search; they didn’t check any of the trucks or RV’s so you could have smuggled anyone in. The only question they asked is if we were US Citizens, didn’t check anything, just took our word. I am not sure why they were even checking we were not the close to the border and I don’t care who comes to this country since we all come from immigrants.

We arrived at White Sands National Monument fully expecting to pay our $25 entry fee, when the park ranger asked an unexpected question about veteran status, well as luck would have it Jerry is a Navy Veteran, so we now get in to all National Parks at no charge.

A bit about the park. It is 275 square miles of gypsum dunes formed from an ancient sea that covered the area ions ago. There are numerous things to do and the dunes are much firmer than sand dunes on the coast. You can drive through the dunes, on Dunes Drive, slide down the dunes, right horseback, hike numerous trails and even camp in the back country (in season). We took the Dunes Drive route stopping a few times for pictures and to walk on the dunes. The views are spectacular and I can only imagine in the summer it would be blinding with the white sand and sun. Winter is a good time to visit, it isn’t that crowded and certainly not hot. We spent about 45 minutes in the area. Might have spent longer but are always aware of our obligation to Tarragon to not have him in the car to long.

From White Sands we were off to Cloudcroft for lunch. This was a very beautiful drive up in to the Sacramento mountains, it started snowing on our way up. We had lunch at a rustic old lodge, simply called the lodge, it had a golf course several rooms and a very cute restaurant. Very reminiscent of the Chateau at the Oregon Caves. During lunch the snow really started coming down and the fire was at a low roar. This was the best lunch of the trip so far. Jerry had a very simple quesadilla filled with beans, green chilies and cheese; the house made salsa was the standout. I had blue corn chili rellenos, stuffed with cheese. They were the best I have ever had, crisp on the outside and gooey cheese on the inside. The wild rice with cheese and green chilies was also really good.

After lunch we were off to Carlsbad. The drive from beginning to end was really interesting, the difference in landscape was dramatic, from the barrenness of the missile range and white sands, to the mountain pass, moving through the miles of cattle ranches and the oil fields near Artesia.

Filing arriving at Carlsbad and checked into our room, with the nice surprise of an upgrade due to the recent achievement of gold status with Hilton Honors. We were scheduled to have dinner at the Red Chimney Pit (BBQ) but they didn’t take reservations and when we drove buy, they were packed. Since the close at 8:30 we opted to just eat at the place next to our hotel, which I am embarrassed to say is a Chili’s. One so so dinner shouldn’t kills us. I can guarantee you the dish of the day is not coming from there, so I will tell you now it is clearly the Chili Rellenos I had for lunch.

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Back from dinner and yes, I was correct to dish of the day from that experience. No need to dwell on the experience other than to say, why do parents take children under 10 out to eat after 8 at night.

Tomorrow is an early day as we are off to the caves so get up early. Good news for Tarragon we are here two nights so he has no car travel tomorrow.

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Photos

Waffles & Omelet
A Bite of Belgium

Dunes Drive
White Sands National Monument

Chili Rellenos
Dish of the Day