Adrift In The SouthWest Again Part III

Tuesday morning Guitar and I were both awake by about 6 am and started preparing for the days discoveries. First on our list was White Sands National Monument. I have been wanting to visit this place for many years and today was the day to fulfill my want.

I have been to the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado and they were truly impressive. White Sands is no less impressive but in a completely different way. White Sands is white! At times when the clouds provided a little shade you could easily mistake the sand for snow. The roads are plowed on a regular basis because of the drifting sand and it looked very much like snow piled up on the side of the road.

Guitar and I spent a couple of hours looking around and trying to get the "perfect" picture that would convey the beauty of this place. I think I won with these two pictures. As good as any picture is, it really doesn't do justice to this place. I heartily recommend visiting here if you ever get the chance.

Next stop was Las Cruces, NM for a shot of weird to balance off the natural beauty of White Sands. The object of our attention was a Muffler Man. I haven't bagged a Muffler Man in quite a while so both Guitar and I were excited! While we were trying to figure out exactly where it was and how to get to it, we drove right by it. We quickly took the next exit and circled back.

This Muffler Man is special because he is an Hispanic Muffler Man. Oh yes, there are differences among Muffler Men. If there weren't differences the hunt might become boring....This one was in pretty rough shape and had lost his arms somewhere along the way. We took the requisite pictures while doing the Muffler Man salute and headed down the road.

The second prize attraction in Las Cruces is another giant roadrunner made from recycled materials

We stopped at Lordsburg for the evening because, well because there wasn't any other place close by to stop. I am sure that this is the only reason Lordsburg survives....traffic and stopovers from the adjacent Interstate.

Wednesday morning we headed out for the last leg of the first half of the trip and arrived at the Cactus Country RV Park about noon. After a quick lunch we did a quick trip to the Amerind Foundation for a quick hike of their grounds with our hosts for the next couple of days, Jamie and Betsy. We then rushed back to the Tucson airport to pick up The Bride and Pic-E. Dinner and a drink or two followed and we sacked out early because for the next several days we would be on the go almost constantly.

I'm posting this from the USA RV Park in Gallup, NM on historic Route 66. This is the first internet connection we've had in a couple of days and will be the last for a few more. Tomorrow morning we're headed for Chaco Canyon and hope to stay for 2-3 nights. An awful lot of cool things have transpired since last Wednesday but my report will have to wait for a while so stay tuned.

Thanks for visiting.