Somewhere along the way, my husband and I decided that we were going to take some road trips. And we bought an RV! We have these lofty dreams of seeing the USA up close and personal. Did you know that there are so many places that really are amazing to see and experience that don’t include Mickey Mouse, modern technology, or fancy hotels? We finally read the memo that this USA is full of amazing things, and we have caught the bug to see them all! Ok, maybe not all. But wouldn’t that be nice. I’m talking about canyons, deserts, water falls, rivers, lakes, oceans, caves, mountains, and more. We have already hit the road and experienced some of the best and breathtaking places I have ever seen.
On one of our journeys, we visited White Sands National Monument. It sets in the southern part of New Mexico right in the middle near the town of Alamogordo. I’m telling you that this place just exists out in the middle of no where . . . so to speak. It is wild.
The day we visited the National Monument, it was cool and cloudy. We thought it was iffy just to chance it. Little did we know that the BEST day to visit is a cool and cloudy day. I cannot imagine being here in the hot summer sun! Use lots of sunscreen and drink plenty of water if you do!
You begin your journey into the park, and it seems like this is going to be a pretty cool place.
We stopped and took the Interdune Boardwalk. It is a raised boardwalk out into the sand and dunes. It was a cool walk. I do recommend it as it is quick and easy. It is also nice if you have someone that cannot for some reason go out into the sand. It gets you out into the wild and deeper into the park.
Once you get deeper into the park, it became clear to us that this place is flat out gorgeous! Of course, the main agenda for our family of five was dune sledding. We found a place we thought we wanted to sled and hiked to the top of the dune. This is looking back out to the surrounding mountains. That is our RV waiting to comfort us at the end of a great day. You will notice there is quite a bit of vegetation of some sort. It wasn’t a problem as the dunes piled way up above it.
In full disclosure . . . getting back up to the top of the dunes can be a bit strenuous. You have been warned!! But all five of us made it up and down. The kids obviously had an easier journey, but the parents made it. We all had a blast sledding down the dunes. It isn’t fast though. I would NOT equate it to snow sledding. But, it had us all in smiles! And the sand . . . oh it was heavenly! It was soft and didn’t stick to you like ocean sand. Although, our RV and clothes will tell a different story. My youngest son was still emptying sand out of his pockets about a week after our trip. And the shorts had been washed twice!!
So this happened. This might be a good time to lecture you on the potential hazards of plopping your kids onto a piece of plastic and shoving them down a hill. We escaped with no injuries, but I am sure the risk is present. Also . . . do you see the base of the dune where the vegetation is growing? That stuff is hard. As in rock hard!!! Thankfully, you will be gliding to a stop about the time you get there, but it should be noted.
We are a family of 5. Our youngest is 4 and he had a blast! The other two are 10 and 12. They also had a blast. I would say if you are the adventurous type of family, you will love this.
We ended the day with a few all family sleds. This was the first “kid only” turn. I am up at the top waiting for our final sled down for the day . . . all five of us at once and all together.
This sums up who we are as a family and what we thought of White Sands National Monument. We are grateful to have the opportunity to spend the day in such a magnificent place. It felt like we were translated into the Sahara for the day . . . minus the blazing desert heat. This has truly been a blessing, and we will always hold this place as special in our hearts.
I would say our favorite activities were the few hikes, sledding, and photography. It costs $5 for adults to enter. We didn’t bring our own sleds. The gift shop has them available for sale along with wax. We were told that they can sell out. And you could totally bring your own. We just didn’t want to pack them. Just make sure you grab sleds at the entrance before driving into the park. All the photos you see here were taken with my iPhone 7 Plus. I did not get my DSLR out of the RV. I am so thankful as getting up and down the dunes required more effort than normal. (You notice that I didn’t include my crawling up the hills with my legs sinking into the sand. You are welcome!) I saw lots of photographers throughout the day. Visit this post if you want some Travel Photo Tips. But as sunset was near, they all came out of the sand to photograph the glorious moment. I missed it as we wanted to hit the road. Maybe I will be fortunate enough to visit again someday.
Of course, I would love to sled again and play in the sand. But, oh the views. I would love to just get to photograph the uninterrupted beauty.
Good bye White Sands National Monument . . . until we meet again.