I lived in New Mexico for a little over eleven years. The scenery there is amazing. You have the mountains and the high planes all in desert setting. The mile high altitude changes the atmosphere so that the sky and clouds look close enough to touch.
The photos I am adding today are ones that were taken during a trip to White Sands, New Mexico. The white sand that makes up the dunes are actually gypsum rather than the typical silica found in most sand you find on the beaches and in the desert.
White Sands is located in the Tularosa Basin in South Central New Mexico. It consists of about 275 square miles of gypsum sand dunes. The dunes can drift as high as 60′, and drift from west to east. The Tularosa Basin is located between the Sacramento and San Andres Mountains. Because it is an internally drained valley, gypsum is dissolved by rain water and deposited in Lake Lucero. Lake Lucero is an ephemeral lake and is known to loose most of it’s water each year. As the water dries, the gypsum crystallizes and the wind breaks it down to very small pieces of gypsum sand.
White Sands Missile Range was the site chosen for Trinity in November, 1944. The first atomic bomb was detonated at the Trinity test site on July 16, 1945.
Serenity of White Sands, New Mexico
This picture show how serene the area is, even on a cold winter’s day. Knowing that the first atomic bomb was detonated near this serene place is a little disheartening. The devastation wrecked on Nagasaki and Hiroshima as a result of the tests performed here is unthinkable. But while it is unthinkable, the alternative could have been even worse. War is never a pretty site; ending it sooner, rather than later, is arguably an infallible justification.
It is a bit ironic that the day we visited White Sands, we were there with a visiting artist from Japan. His family comes from Imari, Japan in the Saga Prefecture, about 60 miles from Nagasaki. We didn’t discuss World War II during this trip, even though I thought it would come up. I wasn’t clear whether it was of no interest to our visitor or if it was an uncomfortable subject.
The following picture came about by being in the right place at the right time. This ladybug was just meandering along in the sand when I spotted her.
Ladybug, White Sands, NM
For more about White Sands, New Mexico, check out: White Sands, New Mexico This site has a wealth of information and links about the area. If you get to New Mexico, it would be a shame to miss this massive piece of our American History!