Saturday, February 22

30 degrees this morning and temperature dropped for a while as we headed to Carrizozo. Sunrise arrived softly in pastel blues, pinks and yellows.

Carrizozo's faint lights at dawn.

This town had painted donkeys throughout….add that to our list of painted animals including horses, cows, bears, dolphins, groundhogs…  Carrizozo's other claim to fame is that it is where the movie Book of Eli with Denzel Washington was filmed. From here we headed south on Rt 54 to Alamagordo and White Sands.

As we approached Alamagordo we began to see Pistachio orchards and vineyards. Several roadside stands but they weren't open yet.

pistachio orchards

On to White Sands.  Arrived at 8:10 and the Dunes Road was happily open.  There was a scouting event going on in one area with a few hundred people, but not a lot of tourists otherwise.

visitor's center at White Sands.

We drove the loop and did a few short walks into the dunes.  Of those in the park, many were sliding down dunes on saucer-type sleds or, as in photo below, burying people!  Though the sun was shining, it was still quite chilly and the sand was cold.

  One trail was marked by orange posts so that hikers wouldn't get lost.  Talked with a few photographers doing time-lapse photos, and tried to capture the gracefulness and beauty of the dunes on a few (lol) photos of our own.

As with so much of the terrain this trip, the sheer vastness and grandeur is difficult to capture.

We headed back up Rt 54 a bit and stopped for some tasty samples and nuts at PistachioLand, which is next to one of the largest orchards in NM.

We then turned eastward again and made the steep climb to aptly named Cloudcroft.  Passed the Apple Barn and an interesting RR Trestle on the 4000' climb.  Some snow as we neared the highest elevation, but not on the roads.  Temperature predictably dropped over 15 degrees as we climbed.

Continued across NM towards Carlsbad, and decided to stay at Brantley Lake State Park for the night.
NM State parks are a bargain at $14 for a site with electric and showers!  This park must be an oasis for rabbits, too, as we spotted quite a few cottontails along with a long-earred jack rabbit.

The lake looked to be quite large, surrounded by scrubby brush and small trees. Some interesting dried thistles.

The strong winds that we had lost in White Sands (thankfully) reappeared.

There was a star party that evening hosted by two rangers, but because of clouds, the only thing we really saw was Jupiter with its rings and moons.