(White Sands NM) In the middle of the Tularosa Basin, about half way between Las Cruces and Alamogordo NM, lies 275 square miles of gypsum sand dunes. It’s the largest such dune field in the world and has been set aside as White Sands National Monument. The huge dunes are constantly growing and shifting, as […]
(Alamogordo NM) Oliver Lee Memorial State Park sets at the mouth of Dog Canyon, about 24 miles south of Alamogordo. It has a wonderful view of the Tularosa Basin and the Sacramento Mountains. I spent a week there exploring. One of the trails ascends up the canyon to an overlook about 3,000 ft above the […]
(Alamogordo NM) In the late 1800s “Frenchy” Rochas built a small rock and adobe cabin for himself at the mouth of Dog Canyon. By piling rocks, he also created a flume from the spring fed stream in the canyon to collect water. He stacked rock terraces for his garden, orchard, and walls to contain his […]