First, I have to say, Alamogordo wins for best name. Fat Cottonwood Trees? Love it!

We kicked off our day with a visit to Pistachioland - how could we resist the biggest pistachio in the world? Pistachioland had recently restarted their tours with limited numbers and on a first come, first served basis, so we arrived early enough to get a spot on the first tour. The tour was about 30 minutes long and we rode around the orchard in a cart and learned about growing and harvesting pistachios. All the trees are grafted to help them adapt to the southwest environment and the right ratio of male to female trees needs to be planted for pollination. I had no idea there were male and female pistachio trees (I later learned this is called dioecious). We liked the tour and afterwards browsed the large store to pick out some pistachio goodies to take home. One of the most popular items is the garlic pistachios, so of course we had to get a bag.

Our main stop of the day was White Sands National Park - the only park you have to check for missile tests before visiting (the park closes when the adjacent White Sands Missile Range is conducting a test). White Sands is a new enough national park (designated in 2019) that a lot of their postcards and souvenirs still say "national monument" on them. The gypsum dunes cover 275 square miles and this is the largest gypsum dunefield in the world (about half is preserved in White Sands NP). Hundreds of millions of years ago the Permian Sea left layers of gypsum on the seafloor and tectonic activity eventually created the Tularosa Basin; bounded by the San Andres Mountains to the west and the Sacramento Mountains to the east. Over time the rain and snowmelt carried dissolved gypsum from the mountains into a lake in the basin and as the water evaporated, selenite crystals formed on the playa. When the climate became warmer and drier this area was transformed into the modern Chihuahuan Desert. Natural forces broke down the crystals and the strong winds accumulated the sand into larger dunes. The process continues today with the most active crystal formation occurring when large floods concentrate the mineralized water every ten to fourteen years (information from the NPS website).

There was a long wait to get into the visitor center, so we skipped that and purchased a sled behind the building.* The Dunes Drive is a scenic eight mile drive (one way) and there are multiple parking areas to pull off and just wander into the dunes. There are several marked trails and we decided to follow the backcountry camping trail (2 miles RT). The park was busy when we were there, but once you are out in the dunes it is easy to spread out and feel like you are in the wilderness. We only nominally followed the trail (although always kept an eye on the markers or landmarks) and just wandered around the dunes looking for good sledding spots or photo opportunities. We were fortunate that it was a gorgeous day with a brilliant blue sky and puffy white clouds. The gypsum dunes were very striking and it was a terrific afternoon. We made our way back to the car to eat our picnic lunch and we initially thought we might stick around until sunset for pictures, but we noticed strong winds in the distance kicking up a lot of sand and decided we should continue on to Las Cruces. This was a good decision as the winds were starting to really blow as we left and were strong all the way to Las Cruces (we saw multiple dirt devils and small sandstorms on the drive).

We started our day with the world's largest pistachio and it seemed fitting to finish it off with the world's largest chili pepper, which is in the front of an old motel. We snapped a few pictures, ran a few errands, had a tasty Mexican dinner, and retired for the night (and shook out all the sand from our shoes and clothes!).


* We attempted to purchase a sled in Alamogordo, but had no luck. I can't remember the exact price, but the prices at the park were around $19 for a new sled and $14 for a used one (if available) and $2 for wax (definitely needed). If you purchase a sled and return it with the receipt, they will credit you $4. Covid operations meant one line and it was a long wait. Offer $10 to buy a sled from someone waiting to return theirs or offer to sell yours to someone looking for a sled - it was a lot quicker than waiting in line.