White Sands National Park – second stop

White Sands National Park- round 2

I did round 2 of the White Sands National Park as the first stop on my journey in 2022.  The dates of this visit and the last visit were 1 year and 12 days apart.  I had not originally planned on coming here again but on a whim I decide to give it a go a second time.  The park is kinda on the way for me to Joshua Tree my next destination so what the heck.  The last visit was all about hiking and seeing everything.  This visit was much more laid back and I even took a bit of a relaxation time at one of the various picnic areas.  The picnic are was massive and each of tables had a grill and shade.  There were plenty of vault toilets in the picnic area and of course the dunes were close by.  I did not cook but took the time to test out the wheels and go up the dune.  Note:  The dunes do not get hot so bare feet I went up the dune and the wheels were good.  After some rest, didn’t sleep well last night, off I went to see about flying my drone and get some footage, check out the YouTube channel Drivingdundee.  The ranger at the entrance gate was wonderful and he was a wealth of knowledge about the park.  One bummer thing was the Ranger Night walk was cancelled except for the weekend so I could not enjoy the hike.  It was said that a lack of people are the cause of no hike, so everyone is feeling the pain.  

When flying my drone the first time all went well.  The second time not so well.  The drone got caught in a draft which took the drone away and out of range.  It started home but the winds prevented it from coming all the way home.  As luck would have it I was able to reconnect the drone and fly it in a zig zag pattern back close to me.  I just could not land the thing as the wind would catch it and take it away.  A soft crash landing in the sand was the only way to bring her in for a landing, thankfully the pilots of the many flight I have taken did not have that approach.

The White Sands Missile Range surrounds the parks and for the safety of the public the park is closed.  The closure is not just the park but US 70 between the park and Las Cruces.  The closures are only 2 times a week and last a few hours.  Coming from the East and having a proving grounds and arsenal near where I grew up this is not new.  A National Park closing is, but let’s remember safety is important for all going into the park.

It was very interesting that you can see the white sand in the distance some 50 miles away on a clear day and if you know what you are looking for in the distance.

The park is good for a day visit.  I enjoyed the day and a picnic could be something for the next visit.

I stayed at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park.  The campground is the same that I stayed last year and it is a very nice small state park.  The campground/park is about 30 minutes away from the National Park and is next to some mountains/hills and a canyon between them for some hiking.  The state park has showers in clean bathrooms and it also has some pit toilets to prevent you from having to walk too far.  I enjoyed my site as I could park Dundee and have shade in the evening but the sun was up over the hills early making it a bit hot.  Good news is that I was on my way early in the AM.