America's Wonderlands: The Sandbox

[Bumblebee]

Where's Bumblebee? I'm not telling because I don't know right now and if I did know, I still wouldn't tell. This however should give you an idea of what living on the road, and more importantly, what this country is all about...

After some 2000+ miles of travel I arrived in the Tularosa Basin in southern NM for one of several photography projects in the area. Most people know this area for the white sands missile range where crazy airplanes either land or pieces fall off them that come crashing out of the sky. Even the space shuttle landed at the nearby military base. What a lot of people don't realize is that this is also the location of the White Sands National Monument.

Due to geography, no rivers drain this basin. Any water that comes into the valley from the mountains or rain either remains or evaporates. Most evaporates. The surrounding mountains contain gypsum which dissolves in water and is carried downhill into the valley to collect in shallow playas (temporary shallow lakes). The water evaporates leaving the gypsum crystals behind. The crystallized gypsum can range from millimeters to several feet across. Over time, wind, water and blowing sand break the crystals down into gypsum sand. Do this long enough and the next thing you know, you have some 275 square miles of blinding white sand dunes. This place is the largest expanse of gypsum sand dunes in the world.

So what do you do in a place like this? You do what the park rangers tell you to do. When I showed them my national parks pass, they said it is required that I take my shoes off and walk barefoot in the sand. They also said to not damage the playas, park equipment, vegetation, critters and no driving on the dunes however vandalizing the dunes themselves is actually encouraged. Write your name in 50 foot letters if you want. Try that at any other national park and you'll be in the federal slammer before you can finish writing your message.


1. White Sands National Monument - New Mexico
2. After a bit, there is no road here. It's all sand..and I'm 5 tons and not 6 wheel drive. The good bit is that is all hard pack gypsum sand..
3. What does your back yard look like? This is my home from near the top of a sand dune. Dunes typically range from 30-60 feet. There is no designated parking here, park anywhere and put your nose in the dunes if you want..which is exactly what I did.
4. Bumblebee's Iron Pony in real sand country.

[Bumblebee]

From the main entrance, there is several miles of paved road in the desert to get to the actual dunes. At the park headquarters, the dunes themselves look very anti-climatic..yet has some promise of things to come.

After a few miles on pavement, the road enters the sand dunes proper...then the dunes enter the road. Then the pavement ends and it's all sand after that. My first pass through here was a bit interesting. I'm driving along with a 5 ton vehicle, 4 wheel, not 6 wheel drive...and I'm headed into the sand with this wagon. The only image that came to mind was sinking up to the storage compartment doors. But this is gypsum sand which can be hard as rock and if you want traction, this is traction like you wouldn't believe. Your tires won't slip at all however if they do come out from under you, you'll be abraded to nothing before you stop sliding...and that's assuming you're wearing crash gear. This stuff is grabby abrasive.

A note of warning though for riding here: The hardpack is the ideal riding surface at any speed. However, watch out on the paved road for sand, pulling off onto the side of the road, stop areas or next to the dunes themselves. The unpacked loose sand is not the place for street tires and probably not overly fun with dirt tires when not expecting it. It's deep and sinky and will push your wheels every direction imaginable then some you can't imagine. This is pucker factor 8.3 stuff if you do something stupid.

1. Approaching the dunes on the paved road.
2. Bring your own poopie paper. Those leaves would be a bit rough on the derrier.
3. The obligatory idget sign approaching. This one indicates that things are about to become interesting.
4-5: Blinding white sand everywhere.

[Bumblebee]

After about 8 miles of riding from the main entrance, you enter the main loop. Here you find huge open areas for parking and generally having fun. These areas are mostly empty space. In some there are just potties, others have shelters, others are just..there. There is no designated parking at all. You can park in the middle for no reason whatsoever or against a dune. If you're there with several other vehicles, just circle the wagons and you're good as long as others can get past you without crowding. There's plenty of room for everyone so spread out all over the place.

Here's a bit of interesting picnic table trivia: I've traveled all my life around this country. I've been here a few times including when I was very little. This place is nearly the same as it was in the late 1960's. I recall seeing my dad's photos of this park with the sun shelters in rows, far apart and huge expanses of flat hard surfaces surrounded by dunes. They look the same today as they did then. The next time I'm there, I intend to duplicate one of my dad's photographs by standing in the exact spot he took the picture in the 1960's.

1. The decades old picnic table sun shelters.
2. A water break at one of the shelters. They block the sun however not the wind. Excellent design.

[Bumblebee]

White Sands is not about riding, or driving, or parking places...or structures or great events or tourist trap buildings. The dunes are about sand, sand and more sand..and being a kid. Did I mention, they have sand there? It's absolutely everywhere. Oh yea, there's sand too.

SANDBOX TIME! Take your stupid shoes off and get outside.

Woah camel, all stop. This blinding white sand has been in the scorching hot summer sun at 90+F for hours now. This stuff should be hot enough to melt your tires, boil your axle grease and thermally damage your exhaust pipes for good measure.

So you take your shoes off...
And cautiously step down on the sun scorched white surface...
Onto...
A surface..
That is...
Very very...
Unbelieveably...
Cool!!

Remember the bit about this being gypsum? Well, gypsum doesn't retain heat very well like typical rock and mineral beach or desert sand. The hard packed gypsum surface is high traction like you wouldn't believe however it's not hot at all.
The loose dune sand is even cooler. If you get down 2-4 inches below the surface, the sand is actually quite cool to the touch.

The dunes are about playing and having fun. Forget the sand disks they sell at the tourist trap. Just bring yourself and leave your shoes behind. Climb up the steep side of a 30-40 foot dune. Back up about 5 big steps...then run as fast as you possibly can and leap into empty air. If done properly, you'll fall about 15-20 feet vertically before hitting sand on the steep slope. Two to 4 big steps later and you're at the bottom. What happens if you get off balance and go feet over head? Simple, you tumble a bit, stop and get up while laughing hysterically to do it all over again. The easiest and quickest way to get to the top is do like a dog. Run up the hill with your hands and feet.

Oh yea, you're going to get coated in sand so just get over and have fun because there's nothing you can do about it.
 

1. Vandals, I'm telling you, they're everywhere nowadays. ;-)

[Bumblebee]

It's Bugs Bunny's beach vacation country here. Remember the cartoon? His hole opens up in the sand. A chair, umbrella, drinks (complete with a little straw and umbrella) and a book flies out of the hole. Then Bugs Bunny hops out in a swimsuit and runs for the water with his blow up float toy. Miles later he's still in sand and still hasn't found water. That is one big beach. White Sands is just like that.

1. Bugs Bunny's Beach.

[Bumblebee]

Bumblebee is on a working vacation. I get to play and I get to work. Sometimes the two are separate, sometimes they are done at the same time.

To do what I came here for, I must go into pristine sand away from the tourists. Footprints or 50 foot patterns in the sand or people on the horizon is totally unacceptable. To get away from all signs of humans, I have to go off all the established trails and navigate on my own. This will involve a several mile hike each way before and after sunset.

Sand dunes anywhere are not exactly the safest environment to hike into. It's not actively dangerous like a cage trying to run you down. It's passively dangerous kind of like a turn in the twisties. Safe if you know what you're doing, potentially deadly if you don't. Every dune looks the same. You can be one dune over from the huge parking areas and miss them entirely. Stand on top of a dune two over and you might as well be 20 miles away.

I have a great deal of wilderness navigation experience and realistically know what I'm getting into..and I'm taking this place seriously. Compass and an aeronautical sectional chart. Careful observation of fixed landmarks from the top of the hill. As an absolute last resort I am carrying a GPS with the coordinates of the motorhome in my camera pack. I leave a navigation plan with a no-later-than return time attached to the door of the motorhome for park rangers with all my navigation information and my planned emergency unlost procedures. Then I walked off into the middle of nowhere all alone.

I won't post my sellable work however here are a few fun shots while I was doing my thing:

1. Outbound hike. Dramatic however nothing special.
2. The high hill on left is one of my fixed navigation points. And yes, it looks exactly like 500 other ones all around it.
3. Another temporary reference point that was established while enroute. Like I said, navigation out here isn't for the faint of heart.
4. Absolutely no chance of getting lost here now is there?
5. Camp is that-a-way. I'm absolutely serious. It really is and it's only about 3/4 mile away..but it's not in a straight line with the footprints. I will not return that direction either.

[Bumblebee]

More dune wilderness.

The one thing that you can't ignore is the absolute open world silence. The desolation is intense. It is essential to stop regularly and turn around 360 degrees to experience what this place is all about. The feeling of being a tiny nothing is what the world really is. It's humbling.

At one point over a mile from the motorhome I spun around in place several times really fast with my eyes closed. I slowed the spinning down and slowly opened my eyes as I came to a stop. The only thought I had was that if you don't know what you're doing out here, you can get seriously lost. After a few seconds of reorientation, I continued the hike that was a big loop, not an easy straight line. And even straight lines out here are not easy as it sounds.

I completed the big loop hike with time to spare. The only sad part about this place is there is no overnight camping except for a first come first serve remote camping which I will do next time I come through here. The park itself opens too late to do early morning photography.

If you are in the area, definitely go to White Sands and stay for the day. It's an excellent place to have fun... And take your shoes off because you don't need them.

Advice of the day: Turn your computer off, get your gear on and go see America's Wonderlands.

Safe riding...and exploring...

Peace Out,
Bumblebee


1. Nowhere.
2. My photography equipment on the summit of a hill over a mile from a reference point that I call nowhere.
3. Sunset.
4. Proof it's sunset.
5. Oh goodie. Now I get to find my way back across unexplored terrain in the dark. The nice thing is that the sand is so white that it'll still be bright enough to navigate by for several more hours.

[roadrunner]

Outstanding pictures and great background info !!

[flynrider]

   What a blast from the past!   I grew up in nearby Las Cruces and spent many a day playing on the dunes at White Sands.   It's truly a unique place. 

   You're right about those shelters.  I think they're the same ones that were there in the late 60s when I first visited.

   I also worked at the missile range for a few years.   If the visitors to the monument only knew how often test missiles got away from us, they might rethink their trip    In fact, my very last visit to the monument was in a borrowed M151 Army jeep, looking for a lost surface to air missile.   The rangers at the gate weren't at all surprised to see us 

[Bumblebee]

Now that looks like a blast BB , love the shot of your house with the awning set up and the bike under it  mol...what an awesome life to live (that's it ,i'm buying a house on wheels)

You won't hear me complaining. Just remember it's not all glory out here. I am currently about to get back on the road again after a couple weeks delay. I've had the tool box out changing the radiator, putting in a new fuel pump on the generator and finally getting the engine air conditioner going for the first time. I'm also helping get a suzuki back on the road along with a little farm and construction work while I'm here.

Outstanding pictures and great background info !!

I find the background of an area as interesting as what's there. Each park or monument, no matter how small, deserves at least a couple months of basic research. It's impossible however I do go through the ranger station/tourist information centers, watch the 10 minute video's and read all the signs. No less than one full day at any monument or park.

looking for a lost surface to air missile.

There is a very obvious warning sign at the ranger station saying to not approach any strange objects in the dunes. If you see something unusual, note it's location and tell a ranger. Unexploded ordinance turns up from time to time and they have to call the military in to deal with it. The National Monument is just a small portion of the dunes. The military controls most of it.

[OhCrap]

Thanks man, awesome report and what a beautiful desert.

*puts this one on to to-do list*

[hppants]

Mr. Bee, you are the ultimate Nighthawk Adventurer.  

[JB1290]

Thats great! Love the pics. 

[cjbear11]

 

[fishmeister]

"The Bee"........like a wild feral cat scratching around in Earth's litterbox.  

[Bumblebee]

Earth's litterbox

 

I'll never look at huge expanses of sand quite the same again...

My sister calls Big Bend god's dumping ground, desert, mountains, sandstone, volcanic rock and more. It's a very accurate description actually.

[fishmeister]

"The Bee"........like a wild feral cat scratching around in Earth's litterbox.  

It also reflects to the beginning of your story....looking for butt wipe materials.

A dual metaphoric comparison.

[Bumblebee]

It also reflects to the beginning of your story....looking for butt wipe materials.

I caught that. That's why it was so funny.

[luckylindy]

 Great report and pics BB.

[Me]

To see places like that........ Someday, I can only dream.

[happycommuter]

I don't quite understand the point of hiking miles through all this if the terrain is utterly repetitive.  Is there a scenery change at some point?

And what's with this shoes off policy?  Are they afraid that the sand will get dirty? 

[LOKi]

I don't quite understand the point of hiking miles through all this if the terrain is utterly repetitive.  Is there a scenery change at some point?

And what's with this shoes off policy?  Are they afraid that the sand will get dirty? 

Don't ask questions....

It's all part of his covert mission.

see my post here for the background.
http://nighthawk-forums.com/index.php/topic,3703.0/highlight,who+bumblebee.html

[LOKi]

I remember this place from when I was a kid. The dunes looked a lot bigger back then. But everything does when your 4' tall.

I really like your pictures. Sometime when our paths cross I would like to see some of the pictures you take professionally. The ones you can't share online. Let me know if your ever passing through New Orleans. Or if one of my trips brings me anywhere near where your going to be.

[Bumblebee]

I don't quite understand the point of hiking miles through all this if the terrain is utterly repetitive.  Is there a scenery change at some point?

You could have bought a harley instead of a nighhawk. It has two wheels and an engine so it's the same exact thing and they all look the same right? Right? Absolutely.

When you're serious about getting something right, you can't have a footprint or some nutjob standing in the middle of the picture. Contours, light angles and intensities, viewing angles and backgrounds are everything. Each is unique, some work, others don't. It's the difference between pictures at walmart and the Louvre. My stuff isn't likely to turn up in the Louvre however I don't do walmart junk at all.

And what's with this shoes off policy?  Are they afraid that the sand will get dirty?  

They're trying to make people that have been ruined by society's brainwashing remember that life is about living, not being a drone looking at stuff without experiencing. If you're going to get in a sandbox and enjoy it, you have to be a kid. If you have your shoes on, you're just a remote observer. You have to touch the world to experience it.

[happycommuter]

Don't ask questions....

It's all part of his covert mission.

Yeah, I was kind of suspecting some ulterior motive, hidden treasure or the like.  My appreciation for nuance has always been nil, so I didn't think of the finicky artistic vision thing.

If they are really enforcing this shoe thing solely because of a 'mandatory fun' dictate, that kills it for me.  I really don't need a government agency imposing their idea of how I should enjoy myself.