A Presidential Weekend - Part Two
The next day, Saturday, we headed off to White Sands National Monument, leaving at about 10:00. We did get up earlier than that but our motorcycle gear takes quite a while to get on, the bike a bit of time to pack up, etc. At the monument, I watched the educational film with a whole crew of senior citizens while The Boyfriend wandered the nearby audio-visual delights. He is much too cool for educational videos, especially when dressed in his bad-in-black bike gear. He thinks it makes him such a rebel and therefore so attractive. Which, hey, is true. He was hit on earlier in the morning by the barista serving his Chai Tea. One of those drive-thru coffee shacks but we walked up. Obviously, we were travelling on the bike.
We then took the scenic drive up through the dunes and to the trailhead of one of the few hiking routes you can take in the park. The other two are both less than a mile long and littered with placards about the environmental factors allowing this beautiful oddity and labels for all the local flora and fauna. One of these trails is actually a platform through the dunes to allow wheelchair access. Another reason that the trails are so few? Navigation. These pure white sands offer few landmarks and footprints wisp away within a few minutes. Without a compass, someone could get very lost, becoming that ultimate image of the tattered man crawling across the dessert, his tongue dry as the sand, thinking "water water water" and seeing palm trees and dancing girls above each next dune. We had to sign in at the trailhead and sign out on our way back so The Man would always know what we were up to. Walking our trail, we found it wasn't quite that bad. I mean, the mountains are always clearly visable to use as a landmark. But the park system has also labelled the route well with reflective posts every 50 feet or so. In places you can see how the dunes are rising around these markers, however, or how they've been forced to shift the trail with the changing of the sands.
We hiked 4.6 miles in the White Sands and it was breathtaking. We walked all the way out to the dry lake bed, a prehistoric lake which created the environmental anomoly that made the dunes possible. Amazing sight. The fine ridges of the dunes, repeating ripples along the surface in miniature of the dune itself. The expansiveness of the sands and it's similarity in appearance to snow. That image was strengthened, of course, by the fact that it was, well, cold. In fact, The Boyfriend and I hiked in our full motorcycle gear--over pants, inner and outer jackets. Even though my moto pants are stiff and bulky due to the protective padding. We must have been a sight for the few other hikers out that day, appearing over the next ridge as from out of a sci-fi movie. Speaking of which, it is truly amazing to me how many visitors the Monument had and how many actually chose to go into the sands. Some families rented sleds and attempted to slide down a few hills near the road. Others came in about a half a mile. Many didn't even leave the car, it seemed. Sad, I think. To be there, within a stone's throw and yet not throw it, just keep it in your hand to turn over in boredom as you listen to the AM radio or watch the minivan's cool new DVD player in the back seat.
After White Sands (we left about 3:30), we headed towards the Carlsbad KOA. The road rose a good degree in elevation, wound through some mountain passes, and froze my ass near off. We do have electric vests on the bike, which are fantabulously great but, due to a fuse problem that The Boyfriend wants to fix, only one of us can use the jacket at a time or it overloads, allowing neither of us access to life-giving warmth. There were times, when it was his turn, that I was watching the odometer. Saying, I have to give him 30 miles this time. He's breaking the wind for us both. Only 27 more miles. Only 24 more miles...
I am glad that I was able to convince my die-hard companion to shack up at one fo the KOA Kabins--a cute little one room jobbie with (dumm dum dum dummm) heating! We spent a lovely and warm night there for only $15 more than the campsite. Great KOA in Carlsbad, rated best in the nation several times. They have biscuit and gravy breakfasts and bring complimentary firewood right to your site. Very swank.
We then took the scenic drive up through the dunes and to the trailhead of one of the few hiking routes you can take in the park. The other two are both less than a mile long and littered with placards about the environmental factors allowing this beautiful oddity and labels for all the local flora and fauna. One of these trails is actually a platform through the dunes to allow wheelchair access. Another reason that the trails are so few? Navigation. These pure white sands offer few landmarks and footprints wisp away within a few minutes. Without a compass, someone could get very lost, becoming that ultimate image of the tattered man crawling across the dessert, his tongue dry as the sand, thinking "water water water" and seeing palm trees and dancing girls above each next dune. We had to sign in at the trailhead and sign out on our way back so The Man would always know what we were up to. Walking our trail, we found it wasn't quite that bad. I mean, the mountains are always clearly visable to use as a landmark. But the park system has also labelled the route well with reflective posts every 50 feet or so. In places you can see how the dunes are rising around these markers, however, or how they've been forced to shift the trail with the changing of the sands.
We hiked 4.6 miles in the White Sands and it was breathtaking. We walked all the way out to the dry lake bed, a prehistoric lake which created the environmental anomoly that made the dunes possible. Amazing sight. The fine ridges of the dunes, repeating ripples along the surface in miniature of the dune itself. The expansiveness of the sands and it's similarity in appearance to snow. That image was strengthened, of course, by the fact that it was, well, cold. In fact, The Boyfriend and I hiked in our full motorcycle gear--over pants, inner and outer jackets. Even though my moto pants are stiff and bulky due to the protective padding. We must have been a sight for the few other hikers out that day, appearing over the next ridge as from out of a sci-fi movie. Speaking of which, it is truly amazing to me how many visitors the Monument had and how many actually chose to go into the sands. Some families rented sleds and attempted to slide down a few hills near the road. Others came in about a half a mile. Many didn't even leave the car, it seemed. Sad, I think. To be there, within a stone's throw and yet not throw it, just keep it in your hand to turn over in boredom as you listen to the AM radio or watch the minivan's cool new DVD player in the back seat.
After White Sands (we left about 3:30), we headed towards the Carlsbad KOA. The road rose a good degree in elevation, wound through some mountain passes, and froze my ass near off. We do have electric vests on the bike, which are fantabulously great but, due to a fuse problem that The Boyfriend wants to fix, only one of us can use the jacket at a time or it overloads, allowing neither of us access to life-giving warmth. There were times, when it was his turn, that I was watching the odometer. Saying, I have to give him 30 miles this time. He's breaking the wind for us both. Only 27 more miles. Only 24 more miles...
I am glad that I was able to convince my die-hard companion to shack up at one fo the KOA Kabins--a cute little one room jobbie with (dumm dum dum dummm) heating! We spent a lovely and warm night there for only $15 more than the campsite. Great KOA in Carlsbad, rated best in the nation several times. They have biscuit and gravy breakfasts and bring complimentary firewood right to your site. Very swank.
posted by Gnomey G at 8:53 PM
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