Rocks at Texas Canyon rest stop along I-10
We drove quite a way today, to the area of White Sands, New Mexico. It was a nice day to drive, sunny, and not too windy. We stopped at the Texas Canyon rest stop on I-10 where there were a number of very interesting rock formations.
We stopped just inside New Mexico at a tourist information site and got a free map. From there we continued on eastward on mostly flat roads until we went through Las Cruces. Here highway 70 climbs to an altitude of over 5700 feet and then drops down for a long way into the White Sands desert area.
Just before Alamogordo we had to go through a US border patrol checkpoint. They only asked us one question, “What is your citizenship?” to which I replied “Canadian” and they said “Have a nice day” while they took a cursory look in the back of the Tahoe.
When we got to Alamagordo the GPS took us on a rather strange route to this park. First it told us to turn where there was no road. Then it told us to make a U-turn, but it was actually just a left turn. The road we turned onto was paved at first, then after we turned south it changed to a rather rough gravel road with a lot of washes on it. Eventually we got back onto a paved road, and arrived at this high desert campsite. We filled up with water, but when we got to our site found that we have both power and water here, so we wouldn’t have needed to do that.
Oliver Lee Memorial State Park
It is a very nice evening. It is dark here in the New Mexico desert, and the air is very clear so that the stars are very bright. Overhead you can clearly see the Milky Way.