NEW MEXICO: A BABY ZEBRA, WHITE SANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT, AND A GIANT PISTACHIO

 July 2, 2021

As we drove through some really beautiful scenery in the Lincoln National Forest on our way to White Sands National Park, the words "Cold Cider" and "Fresh Cherries" caught my eye. 

We pulled into a parking lot and found what we were looking for--and much more. Who would have thought there would be  a one-month-old Grant's zebra in a New Mexico farm stand? 

Goats, yes. Maybe even the llamas . . .

. . . but a zebra? And not just one zebra, but two. The baby's mama was in the pen next to it.

Life is full of surprises.

Bob also found a baby bison. Look at those tiny horns!

I was impressed by the giant metal rooster, but not impressed by the sign by the door, "NOT A GUN FREE ZONE."  Who needs a gun at a farm stand?

Our next stop was White Sands National Park, perhaps most famous for the adjacent White Sands Missile Range, which is where the first detonation of a nuclear device occurred on July 16, 1945, at 5:29 AM. The site of the explosion is closed to the public.

The national monument is located in the south-central section of New Mexico, in between Las Cruces and Alamogordo.

This was our view as we drove into the monument--typical desert vegetation growing in what looks like pure salt. However, it isn't salt; it's gypsum, the stuff classroom chalk is made of.

A sign near the visitor center says there are only a tiny handful of gypsum dunes worldwide, making this one of the rarest landscapes on planet Earth. Covering 228 square miles, White Sands is the largest of all the gypsum dunes and can be seen clearly from space.

Not too far past the visitor center we came upon a parking lot and boardwalk. When we got out we were hit with an intense dry heat. The temperature was only in the 80s, but the reflection from the sand made it feel more like 120°.

Signs along the way told a little about the vegetation that miraculously draws life from the sand.

Worse than the heat was a strange phenomenon we noticed almost the minute we stepped out of the car. The glare from the sand was so bright that we could not see the displays on our camera screens. Nada. It was literally point and shoot for the entire visit. I'm amazed that I got photos this good! (Totally unedited.)

As we got deeper into the dunes, the sand got closer to the road, and in some places the banks on the side of the road made it look like a snowplow had come through.

More and more white, less green.

Eventually, the road too was covered in sand. We had the air conditioner blasting, and we could almost pretend it was winter out there. Almost. 

The deep blue of the sky highlighted some incredible clouds floating above what looked like a landscape from a sci-fi film about an alien planet.

The clouds bring to mind this scene from Shakespeare's Hamlet:

Hamlet: Do you see yonder cloud that's almost in shape of a camel?

Polonius: By the mass, and 'tis like a camel, indeed.

Hamlet: Methinks it is like a weasel.

Polonius: It is backed like a weasel.

Hamlet: Or like a whale.

Polonius: Very like a whale.

We noticed some unique patterns in the sand.

Aha! They are footprints! I don't know WHAT would draw people out onto sand that seemed hot enough to burn the soles off your shoes.

Aha again! We had noticed what looked like snow saucers for rent in the visitor center.

The dunes are worth a visit, but if I go again, I hope it is during the winter.

Finally, 25 miles back down the road in Alamagordo is McGinn's Pistachio Land, site of the World's Largest Pistachio. How could we not detour for a visit? This tribute to the late Tom McGinn (1929-2007), founder of the Pistachio Tree Ranch, was erected by his son Timothy in 2008. It is a piece of marketing genius. It got us to the gift shop, named (what else) "Pistachioland," where we (of course) spent some money. I'm sure the giant pistachio has brought tens of thousands of others to this remote spot, and that they too have pulled out their credit cards.