White Sands!

Dear Maia and Isaac,

Today came the trip to White Sands National Monument. I don’t know why I had a dream about taking my dogs there last month. But, it was compelling enough that I looked at maps and started planning my route as soon as I woke up.

The drive definitely became more of a desert as we drove south. It took a little over an hour to get there and there was lots of construction.

White Sands Visitors Center – Kachina, Sazi and Maizzy

We got there a little before noon. The ranger recommended two hikes. We started on the nature hike. I would guess that it was 85 feels like 95. I strapped Maizzy on and up the dunes we climbed. It was pretty and kinda surreal. It looked like the lunar surface or something. But, the desert plants hang on to life. The yuccas were big, and there were greasewood trees that were pretty green. I’ll post photos later in an addendum because there is no wifi at the hotel and I only took a few shots with my cell.

A view of the white sands on our short hike

After about 15 minutes, Maizzy started to stress in her backpack. It was too hot with the sun directly above. She had her doggles and hat on. People thought she was adorable and asked if they could take photos. Poor Maizzy just wanted to run to shade but there wasn’t any. I gave her water but it didn’t help, and I was afraid she would get heat stroke. So, we headed back to the car.

We drove on the dunes road until we came to a boardwalk. Hmmm. I wondered if she would do better in the stroller. And – duh – I remembered her cooling bandana so I soaked that before we ventured out on the planks. Sazi road, too, as she was pretty hot by then. It worked awesome and everyone had to stop and say hi to them.

Sisters snuggle in the stroller in the sun

Once we got back to the car, we only drove a little further and I decided there hours was enough. We headed west to a town called Deming, New Mexico, where our motel is. We passed the missile range and drove through lots of desert peaks. I wanted to stop in Las Cruses to eat, but the route was weird and I didn’t want to get off track. Deming was only 50 more miles, so we grabbed Wendy’s once we got here. That was about 4 PM.

Sazi’s tongue is hilarious when she is too hot!

We headed out to a State Park near the hotel called Rockhound. It had some pretty desert peaks and huge prickly pear. Maizzy just slept in her Sport Sack this time. We hiked a mile or so and looked at the nature garden. I love the desert plants.