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| To reach the monument from
Las Cruces, you drive about 50 miles east on U.S. 70 over the Organ
Mountains and through the White Sands Missile Range. |
Once you pass through the
visitor gate and make your way back off the highway, the scenery
gradually changes from one of short scrubbrush to one that is more a
moonscape, with nothing but drifts and dunes of white sand (hence the
name!). |
The FIRST item of business
is, of course, to eat the carefully prepared Subway sandwiches.
Nothing like a full stomach to begin an evening of gymnastics on the
sand dunes! |
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| After careful evaluation and testing, one
sand dune was finally judged to have the best combination of height and
steepness. |
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| Let the leaping begin. |
Because the dunes are formed
by wind action, the steep sides tend to face away from the prevailing
wind direction, which is from the west. Thus, at the time of day
we were there, which is late afternoon, the steep side of the dune is in
shadow, and anything at the top of the dune casts a shadow on the ground
below (assuming the sun is out). A few carefully arranged human
bodies were able to create this shadow. The lone shadow to the far
right is mine of me taking the picture. (Isn't a good thing we
weren't from the University of California!) |
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| If civil
engineering doesn't work out, high
diving is another career option. |
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| Pretty scenery. |
View of the setting sun
through a pair of sunglasses. Gives the photo a darker tint. |
Krista wanted to see a snake
while we were out west (apparently we do not have snakes in Ohio). We didn't see any during our visit to
White Sands, but so that she wouldn't be disappointed, we thought
we'd make one for her. |
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| Several guys, who were
apparently from Italy, felt the need to announce this fact to any
aircraft that happened to be passing overhead. |
A last jump
before calling it an evening. |
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| Task 3 posing for a group
shot. |
Task 4 with their tribute to
the absent Nick Tipple. |
Task 5 showing that not only
can they fight bacteria in produce wash water, but that they'd also
make a heck of a cheerleading squad. |
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| Before leaving, Jill wanted
one last photo of the setting sun. By standing on top of the
Suburban, she was able to get about six feet (or 0.0000000012 %)
closer to it. That, plus her two bazillion megapixel digital
camera, and she had it made in the shade! |
No outing in the Las Cruces
area is complete without a stop at Scoopy's, and our visit to White
Sands was no different. |
Scoopy's is branching out!
They're already in California, and they'll be moving into states adjoining
New Mexico in the next year. If one extrapolates their rate of outward
movement, the Athens Scoopy's should be opening about May of 2015.
Mark your calendars! |
