t r a v e l u s t: New Mexico: Day 4

So it's been a little longer since my first post than I prefer since each day has been pretty filled and I had my share of things to say, but unfortunately, since I didn't bring my own laptop, I don't get priority. Alas. Anyhow...

We're chilling out in Santa Fe right now. The second day, our first full day here in New Mexico, we woke up early, left around 8:30 in the morning, and drove to the White Sands National Monument.

On the way there, you could see their water towers with pretty cool murals on it:

Also, there were these mountains/cliffs around Las Cruces. They were actually fairly daunting and awe-inspiring in the area. Unfortunately, there weren't any good chances to take pictures the night that we drove in, but the drive to White Sands brought us across some more (the same?) mountains and cliffs.

I was slightly annoyed because I was concerned about the weather and the safety since I wanted to hike the Alkali Flats Trail. The Alkali Flats Trail is potentially hazardous and can be quite strenuous depending on the weather. It is a 4.5-mile loop through the white sand dunes, the trail marked only by orange markers that have an arrow that points you approximately to the next marker. The sand is literally white, and, under the hot sun, can be blinding and ridiculously hot. Knowing all this, I packed my hiking boots, my hiking pants, my hiking shirt, 3 liters of water, food/snacks, my bandana, etc. I was prepared for the worst because, well, I like challenging myself, but I'm not about to go do something unprepared... I don't want to be that person that they find in the middle of the desert having only brought a liter of water and didn't pay attention to the warnings because I'm stupid. So, when my parents said that they wanted to join us on this hike, I was wary. Not only because my mom, especially, does not have as much physical strength and stamina, but because they were treating it so lightly. "Oh, 4.5 miles is nothing, we can do that in 1.5 hours." It was frustrating, because I knew about the potential hazards, and I can't stand hiking with people who are... nonchalant about the potential hazards that nature can throw at you. Still, the weather was in their favor--not too windy, and completely overcast. (To be honest, I wish it were a little more dangerous so they can understand what might have happened.) So, lucky for them, but unfortunately for me, it meant that I wasn't able to take any fantastic photos. Sigh. Ah well. If the weather was bright and clear, I don't think my mom would have made it (she doesn't think she could have either), and if a sudden dust storm had blown up, my family would have gotten lost in the first half mile because they refused to follow the signs. Bleh. Oh well, we're all good with cool photos:

As you can see, from the beginning of our trip, it was overcast:

These were the little posts/markers that pointed the way through the desert:

Dad and Mom in the background:

These are Sand Verbena, one of the hardiest wildflowers in the park:

Yay, sand! No sunlight, though. :( ...One of the few times where harsh sunlight lighting is GOOD for photos. Alas. The sand is gypsum, and barely anything grows on the dunes because the dunes move too fast for most plants to grow (and therefore few animals live there as well).

Dune footprints of the (relatively) fast-moving dunes! They look like tire treads. :P

Very cool little pebbles and seed (seed casings?) in the folds of the sand:

Since it was overcast but really dry and windy, it took a lot of reminding for everyone else to stay hydrated. Hello, Mom (she's so colorful against the sand, I love it):

There were a few of these critters jumping (actually, mostly flying) about. One was kind enough to let me take a photo:

Playing with the various levels of the dunes and the aperture of my lens, teehee.

Hello, Jay!

Yay, we reached the Alkali Flat. The Alkali Flat is actually a dried up lakebed that is the source of the dunes. That was pretty much all there was... it was the border of the army testing base thingy that was out there:

More than half way there...

We were very spread out... more than I preferred... but the hiking Gods decided to take pity on us:

I just thought this was cool:

Haha, it's pointy:

An ant hill!

This hill belongs to harvester hands. The dark mound is a home to a colony of harvester ants! Harvester ants usually inhabit warm, dry areas. Their diet consists almost entirely of plant seeds and insects, and apparently these seeds are mostly blown in from outside the dune field by the wind. The large, dark sand grains are carried up from below the surface, and the heavy non-gypsum grains help protect the mound from the wind. However, the moving dunes will bury the mounds, forcing them to relocate.

There was a lot of this up and down thing:

Lizard!

Lonely little poof of cloud:

We finished the hike in 2.5 hours, and then left for Santa Fe.

So much sand in the shoe (and I dumped out a lot more later from the same shoe!):

Funky picnic tables... the made me feel like I was in some other alien world from the old science fiction novels I used to read:

Haha, Mom eating one of those rainbow colored layer popsicles since the sun came out soon after we finished our hike (ARGGG!):

One thing I wish I had gotten a chance to do was get there at night and go stargazing, as the sky is supposed to be gorgeous and completely dark. Ah well.... Food up until now has been McDonald's and that night, was Outback Steakhouse. *face-palm*

Sunset in Santa Fe from our hotel... not the best picture, but unfortunately, the only one:

The colors of the sunset were stunning.

The next day, we woke up around 7, and left for Bandeliers National Monument.

I am basically in charge of plans for the whole trip, and this was kind of last-minute since my parents have not really been giving any feedback, but it's okay--I'm pretty happy about the decision. It took about an hour and a half to get there... I was expecting a light little viewing of some old caves and whatever I briefly glanced at, so I wore one of my Anthropologie dresses. Whoops. It's okay... I still think I look darn awesome in my dress and hiking boots and hiking backpack. :P

(Photo to come later... it's on parents' camera)

Maybe I shouldn't have climbed ladders in it, but I couldn't resist:

(Photo to come later... it's on parents' camera)

The drive there was pretty cool... I love the scenery... the hills in the desert are gorgeous. I love all the rock formations, and the different layers of color that the sand of the desert creates. Unfortunately, I don't have much of a background in geology, so all I could do was stare in awe and wonder how the landscape was formed. It's pretty fantastic.

Some photos of the place when we first got there:

Aren't the rock formations AWESOME!?

Pretty flower:

There, we did a little 1.5 loop with a 1-mile side-trip for about 2 hours. It was 2 hours because you could stop and see all the old caves that the indigenous people built into the volcanic rock walls, and things like that. Thanks to my lovely $1.00 guide-book and my lovely camera, you can see and learn all about it too!

The Ancestral Pueblo people lived in structures such as this Tyuonyi Pueblo. Tyuonyi is a communal pueblo built approximately 700 years ago by the early inhabitants of Frijoles Canyon.

A larger view from above. The rooms of the Tyuonyi seem quite small. It was most likely multi-story, with the ground-floor rooms used most likely for food storage to see the village through times of drought or crop failure.

Standing next to the volcanic rock walls:

Entrances to the cliff dwellings:

Petroglyphs:

Awesomeness:

Isn't nature amazing?

This painted design (pictograph) was part of the back wall of a second-story dwelling. It was uncovered behind a layer of plaster, so this pictograph was probably created for a very specific purpose, then covered over.

Then, there was a little one-mile detour that took us to the Alcove House, which required climbing 4 giant ladders... not necessarily for the weak of the heart