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We're on a three week holiday in Texas and New Mexico! Some of our friends thought it was a bit of a boring part of the USA to visit, but we're having a lot of fun and seeing lots of different places. Our friends, Liz and Steve, live in Amarillo, and we wanted to spend a bit more time with them this time compared to our last visit five years ago. We've taken the opportunity to stay at their cabin in New Mexico and do some trips from there.
First up was a drive out to the
White Sands National Monument. Water, sunscreen and sunglasses are essentials here! What a bizarre place. The enormous dunes of dazzling white sand give the impression that you are out on snowy pistes, yet the blistering heat soon gives you a reality check. It really is extraordinary - and so are the animals that live there. Many have adapted their skin to blend in with the ubiquitous whiteness. The lizards can be particularly hard to spot, but once you do see them, you realise how amazing they are. One species still has a bright blue tail but no doubt that will disappear at some stage in the
future. Hiking across the sands wasn't easy but we enjoyed stepping out on the white mountains. In the visitors' centre you can buy a plastic disc to sit on and ride down the dunes. We didn't do this but it looked like so much fun so if we go back, we'll be better prepared with some kind of shelter from the sun, a picnic, and perhaps a sled!
After a lunch stop in the town of Alamogordo we found our way to the
New Mexico Museum of Space History. It's a real cool place to visit and get a snapshot of both the history of the Space Race and the importance of the White Sands and Alamogordo area in this pursuit of the stars. Located in a golden cube on the edge of town you take the lift up to the fourth floor then walk down through the exhibits. The Wall of Fame is particularly interesting as it features astronauts, cosmonauts, engineers and scientists going back as far as Galileo. It's a complete overview of the space industry because it doesn't just concentrate on those who travelled into space. Even the doctors who developed space medicine are important enough to be remembered here. Outside
there is an exhibit about the "Sonic Wind" contraption which was used both for propelling instruments and potential space travellers to high velocities in short distances, and also for deceleration tests. That must have been quite a white knuckle ride. Also outside are a collection of rockets and drones which give a real spaceflight feel to the place.
The two places combined to make a really good day out, but our recommendation is to do the museum first. That way you are under no pressure to leave the white sand dunes behind before the museum closes. Oh well, hindsight is a wonderful thing!
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
New Mexico
Excellent!