Skip to main content

White Sands NM - Easter Weekend


A three day weekend yields a trip that is a bit farther away...It took us 14 hours to get to Alamogordo, NM. Really? Ok, so we stopped at Fort Union on the way, took a few shots, ate a picnic lunch and got back on the road.  I guess we were there for three hours?  Must have been.  I can't say we are very good at keeping track of time while on a road trip, we just act on whatever moves us.  It is all about the journey after all!

We saw a sign for Fort Union and took the detour.  The first fort was constructed in the 1851 as a military garrison on the Santa Fe Trail, 28 miles outside of Las Vegas, New Mexico.  Three forts were built on the site, the third fort (1861-1891) is what now remains.  It was built from natural materials such as clay, stone and lumber.  The walls were constructed of adobe brick and adorned with red bricks.

Camera: FujiFilm XT3






Day Two: We didn't want to shoot the White Sands National Monument in the morning, or in the middle of the day.  What about a quick trip to Roswell to kill some time?  Ok, that is what we did.  Roswell is about two hours drive from Alamogordo, that gave us enough time to visit the International UFO Museum and have some lunch.  There was a fantastic grilled chicken aroma near the parking lot - we were going to have to get some of that.  We actually ended up at a Mexican restaurant next door, no grilled chicken here, great food at any rate.

The area around the UFO Museum is called Alien District - there are a few gift shops that have cheesy UFO trinkets, nothing that we had to have.  The museum had a lot of information, most of the stories we already knew since we watch a lot of that stuff on TV.








After lunch we got back on the road to the main event - The White Sands National Monument.


Look - there is a an abandoned house on the side of the road! Just too good to pass up.




The monument was once an ancient sea and the sand that remains is pure Gypsum.  The cool thing about Gypsum is that under the dunes there is moisture and the sand does not retain heat from the sun, therefore it is cool to the touch.  The winds blows constantly and if you leave a footprint it will soon disappear into the ripples of the dunes.

We arrived around three in the afternoon and stayed though sunset to the blue hour - totally amazing photo trip and a great way to break in the new FujiFilm XT3 camera.











Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kansas and Oklahoma Road Trip

Labor Day weekend is a chance to travel farther than a six hour radius from home and see more of this great country.  We try to go to places where half of America is not visiting the same sites.  Therefore, Kansas and Oklahoma! The goal of this trip was to shoot Natural Falls in Siloam Springs, Oklahoma.  Never made it.  We spent a lot of time on Kansas. All the road tips to Indiana to see family, there is absolutely nothing to shoot in Kansas, well not off I-70 anyway.  It wasn't until we headed south to Wichita that we found some cool stuff. First stop was Monument Rocks in Gove County. Kansas.  Rock formation in the middle of farm land. Erich flew the drone around and we snapped a few photos - great start to the trip!! Camera: Fuji XT3 Wichita is really a nice city with a new-ish city center.  The Keeper of the Plains greets visitors on sacred Indian ground between the Little Arkansa and the Arkansa Rivers.  At night fla...
Post a Comment
Read more

Arches - Utah

Put on your coat, gloves and fuzzy hat because Utah is cold in the winter. Arches National Park is 119 square miles of over 2000 iron oxide rich, red rock arches at roughly 5000 feet above sea level, just minutes outside of Moab, Utah. We stayed at a cute, old western themed hotel in the center of town. Santa was driving a covered wagon in front of the bunkhouse style exterior aglow with holiday lights. The tiny room was equipped with a mini kitchenette and knotty pine paneled walls and furniture. Very comfortable and warm!! http://www.moabredstone.com We missed a winter storm a few days earlier, which left a dusting of snow on the monumental weathered rock formations, revealing depth and contrast to the otherwise predominately red landscape. Driving up the paved passage into the park, Park Avenue is the first formations you see and a little further is the Courthouse Towers viewpoint. Bundled up like an Eskimo, I rolled out of the car and waddled around the ca...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lake Atitlan - Guatemala

Lake Atitlan is surrounded by many villages, in which Maya culture is still prevalent and traditional dress is worn. The Maya people of Atitlán are predominantly Tz'utujil and Kaqchikel. The Maya weave textiles and each group has their own pattern. Santiago Atitlán is the largest of the lakeside communities, and is noted for its worship of Maximón, an idol formed by the fusion of traditional Mayan deities, Catholic saints and conquistador legends. The institutionalized effigy of Maximón is under the control of a local religious brotherhood and resides in various houses of its membership during the course of a year, being most ceremonially moved in a grand procession during Semana Santa.    Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lago_de_Atitlán The rain was starting to let up as we walked through a maze of cobblestone alleyways to the house of Maximón. The courtyard was was thick with the smoke of incense and the light drizzle of rain collected on the blue plastic...
Post a Comment
Read more