My next stop was the White Sands National Park near Alamogordo in New Mexico. The park covers almost 600 km² of white sand dunes made of gypsum crystals. The gypsum comes from the surrounding hills and mountains, washed into a wide basin by rains over 12,000 years. It’s a bit weird to come across these beach-like dunes in the middle of the continent, but the park is worth a quick visit for the scenery alone.
From here, the long drive up into Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park.
