Moonscape or Snow? White Sands, NM

 

On Day 2 of our trip to the Southwest we headed from El Paso up to White Sands National Park in New Mexico so that I could ride in the park - and so we could see the expanse of gypsum that is randomly deposited there. 

The plan was for me to ride while Steve and Claire did a short 1 mile hike; then they would find me on the ride, which was supposed to be a 16 mile out-and-back.

I started out and was immediately surprised by how much it felt like the beach, and by how much the sand encroached on the road. I should have anticipated that, but didn't.

My pictures are basically all the same. Just amazing blue skies and walls of white sand with occasional brush.

Looking at a landscape like this makes it seem like you're in the desert. 

And then the road began to disappear. I knew the end would be packed shale or some other kind of rock, but again I stupidly did not understand I would be riding through sand.

These pictures are funny, because they are literally of nothing. But I thought the contrast and then the ripples in the sand were beautiful. And there were no people on these dunes. In some places, kids were trying to sled down the dunes with sleds rented at the visitor center. 

This huge parking lot had tons of picnic tables with covers and grills. I wonder if there is a busier time of year? Because on this day they were all empty. Honestly, it would be kind of awful if all of these were filled with people. The beauty of this park was its stark emptiness. 

That black spot in the distance is a single lone truck parked at the bottom of a dune. When I got closer I could see they were unloading sleds for the kids.

While riding around the loop that would turn be back to the visitor center, I actually got a little lost in the multiple parking lots. Kind of ridiculous. But everything looked the same!

And now I'm actually riding through deep sand. I learned it's like riding in snow. You have to keep moving forward or you sink and it's all over.

At one point I had to dismount and walk. Once I was off I couldn't get back on until I got back on solid ground.

Meanwhile, Steve and Claire were doing their little hike. Steve especially really enjoyed it.

Once they finished their hike, they called to catch up to me. When they dropped me off, I'd had a niggling feeling that I was missing something by not doing the hike. So when Steve said it was interesting, we all decided to go back. 

I gave up the rest of my ride--it was flat and short anyway!--and Steve and Claire said they would do the hike again so I could see it (thanks Claire!). So we threw my bike into the back of the truck and headed back to the hike.

The hike had many little placards throughout that educated us about the wildlife that somehow survives in this place. Snakes, kit fox, night hawk, tarantula, tarantula hawk, jack rabbits, badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and of course, the grasshopper mouse, which captivated Steve because it is a meat-eating mouse that defends a territory the size of 19 football fields and roars at night to establish dominance. Craziness!

After the hike, we stopped by the visitor center then headed back to El Paso where we tried to go down to the border to La Ciudad Juarez.

 

And that was State 34! It wasn't much of a bike ride - maybe eight miles - because I jumped in the car with Steve and Claire. The place was too cool to experience alone. 

Fun in Fort Davis, TX

We arrived mid afternoon and checked in to our airbnb. I took off immediately in the 90+ degree heat, hoping to get in a decent ride so that the next day, we could head immediately to White Sands. Thankfully, I decided I didn't have time for the 37 mile ride I originally planned. Instead I embarked on a 25 mile out and back up to an spot overlooking El Paso.

It was really hot right away. Also, I realized I forgot my biking sunglasses. So I had to make due. 😂

I noted that I was passing a hospital in case I ran out of water. I only had two bottles and one was small.

A nice bike path for part of the ride.

It was the desert for sure.

I was happy with how good I felt. We were at 5,000 ft and I was climbing and not feeling it. Hooray!

Rest stop for the overlook with a little shade. 

I got solid shade from this column and also found the stones to be cool, so I huddled here with one of those smiles that isn't really a smile. I recognize that look from Missouri and Colorado on the TransAm!

These guys were inexplicably racing in jeans in the hot sun. They ran down the parking lot toward me and one of them tripped and rolled on the cement almost at my feet. I felt bad for him. He was at least 40 and scraped up pretty bad. 

I decided to keep going to get my full 25 miles. That meant going down the other side a bit.

Bright blue sky.

The view back up.

The view the rest of the way down.

Riding back up. I was still feeling good.

The rest of the ride was uneventful, but by the time I reached town, I was tired.

We were SO EXCITED to arrive in Fort Davis. We arrived exactly at 12:00 when Connor's lunch started and went to his fave food truck. Brisket tacos for most.

Connor showing Claire around the park.

Getting our park ranger talk.

A  breezeway in the officer's quarters, I believe.

This historic buildings were impressive. This is the hallway in the hospital.

Cash coming to visit.

I mean...he was just so cute.

The hospital ward. I guess my pics are out of order.

The wall behind Connor's house.

Happy birthday Connor!

Rummy Royal, of course. We couldn't bring chips on the plane (too heavy for our bags), so we played with individually wrapped candies.

Hiking in Davis Mountains State park.

Balmorhea springs - also a state park. This place was so interesting. People flocked to it and brought all they would need for the day. Like going to the beach.

A tarantula at fort Davis. The only one I've ever seen. He showed up on the morning we left at Connor's work, so we ran up to see it. Also, didn't mention the "rattle snake" (i.e., bull snake) that surprised Connor in the door of his apartment. I had a video but it won't upload. Too bad.

We left fort Davis without Connor 😐 and went to Big Bend National Park. Absolutely beautiful. The first afternoon we hiked the Lost Mines trail because it had some elevation so it was cooler. (as in not 100 degrees). It was literally an oasis, with all of this Mountain bound wildlife, such as bears and mountain lions that cannot wander down and travel elsewhere through the desert.

After Lost Mines, we went and checked into our "space pod" west of the park. It was a cool glamping experience in a place with a space theme. Very creative. Our chairs were first class airline chairs, complete with seat belts.

The next day we got up with the sun to beat the heat and hiked the Mules Ears trail through the desert. We were on the lookout for rattlesnakes the whole time. I saw TONS of cool birds.

After Lost Mines, we headed down the southwestern-most point of the park to the canyon (can't remember name) on the Rio Grande. it was too muddy to cross and hike on the trail (at least according to some), so we just looked.

This was a guy we met at the Mules Ears trailhead. He was riding through every county in Texas. Said he did this in many states with his wife. She passed a few years ago and never wanted to do Texas, so he finally came out to do it without her. 

After Big Bend, it was time to drive back to El Paso. We did so with a stop in fort Davis so we could have dinner with Connor at Lupita's, an excellent Mexican restaurant near him. Then we got ice cream from this caboose and hit the road. 

And that was Texas! The El Paso ride was underwhelming compared to the Davis Mountains we drove through. I'd originally wanted to do a 70 mile ride there, but there was no where to rent a bike, shipping my bike got complicated, and it would have taken away from my time with the family. So it was best to ride in El Paso. 

Distance: 25 miles.

Speed: 11.4 (but remember that at least 8 miles was a climb and I'd gotten up at 5 am, with a time change and 5K feet of elevation!).