Sometimes you need to step out of your normal everyday life to feel inspired again. Sometimes that just means taking a different road to work or starting a random conversation at a diner with someone you’ve never met. Sometimes you have to step into something that shocks your senses.
The White Sands National Monument shocked the senses for me!
This road trip was a great inspiration. At first New Mexico doesn’t seem all that different. The terrain is often very similar to a good portion of Arizona. The heat was definitely the same when we arrived! The newness of the area, though, the unknown roads, cause you to take another look. The subtle differences started to flood into my consciousness!
And then there’s this place.
While chatting to the man who was working on the Roadrunner Sculpture I mentioned in THIS post, I asked him about the White Sands National Monument… was it worth visiting? We received a resounding YES. The next question was… what if it’s windy? Should we visit if it’s windy? Umm, that could be difficult.
Over coffee in Las Cruces I checked the weather and it was definitely going to be windy, but we decided what the hell! We’re here. The white sands looked amazing and who could resist the urge not to photograph them? Definitely not us.
You could see where the dunes were located miles and miles before you arrived at the entrance to the park due to the huge white dust cloud seen in the distance. We hesitated momentarily and considered another route. I actually hate the wind. Loathe it. Often, on windy days I refer to stories about wind so strong and lasting so long that it drove people insane.
The wind was enough to nearly topple me over. My legs were thoroughly wind blasted. I was unable to wear contacts for almost a whole day after this short visit. But it was SO worth it. I’ve never seen such blindingly white sand. If anything, the wind made the experience even more epic. Who wants to take an easy photograph? Stepping out of our little convertible on a beautifully calm day certainly would’ve been easier, but I feel like I earned these photos. We arrived in the harsh, glaring, early afternoon sun and got to work and by work I mean having the most fun ever!
Once I visit a place I’m usually pretty satisfied. I don’t need to visit again especially since I have quite a long list of travel destinations but one of these days I’ll visit the white sands again. It’s just too beautiful not to.
Thursday the 26th I headed east to New Mexico, picking up my girlfriend Jillian on the way. She and I have been been on many adventures and this definitely won’t be the last! We decided we wanted to road trip this summer in my husband’s new little convertible, to a place neither of us have been. New Mexico fit the bill. We headed south via Tucson and stayed in an unremarkable town I already forget the name of. The next morning we were delighted to stumble across this grand sculpture!! And when I say stumble I mean I was pulled over for speeding and ended up in a rest stop while the officer gave me a citation. Sheesh. But we did discover this beautiful creature and as luck would have it, the artist was in the process of finishing up some concrete work for this bird’s new home. Apparently he’s traveled all over the state of NM despite his large size. If you look closely at the details you’ll notice he’s created from reclaimed materials, most notably a bazillion tennis shoes, crutches and keyboards!
We stopped briefly in Las Cruces, grabbed a coffee and hit our first little shop. The color! The statues! The DUST!!! It’s a recurring theme for this trip. Copious amounts of dust.
Photos are being edited bit by bit and I will continue to post them as they’re ready. I can’t wait to share more of this amazing adventure!