White Sands National Monument

As we traveled west our next stop was White Sands National Monument. Located at the northern end of the Chihuahua Desert in a mountain ringed valley known as the Tularosa Basin. At the center of the basin lies on the of the wonders of the world- the glistening white sands of New Mexico. The sand here is made of gypsum. White Sands covers 275 square miles and is the largest gypsum dune field in the world. 275 million years ago this was a shallow tropical sea. 

The kids enjoyed the sleds, and running up and down the dunes. It was a beautiful day and a fun visit to another one of our National Parks!