We left Albuquerque, New Mexico on October 11th and headed south on I-25 towards Alamogordo, New Mexico. We enjoyed the beautiful desert landscape along our route, well at least until we turned onto New Mexico Highway 380.
Trinity Site
We stopped and visited the Trinity Site along Highway 380. Trinity was the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. It was conducted by the United States Army at 5:29 a.m. on July 16, 1945, as part of the Manhattan Project. The site itself is only open to the public twice a year and we missed the public opening by one week but we were able to see the historical marker.
After arriving in Almagordo, we made reservations at the White Sands RV Park for two nights. Our tanks were bursting at the seams from the one week stay at the balloon fiesta so the first thing we did after hooking up was to dump our tanks. After getting settled in, we made a trip to the local WalMart for some groceries and spent the rest of the night watching movies.
New Mexico Museum of Space History
The next day we visited the New Mexico Museum of Space History. The museum contained exhibitions ranging from Robert Goddard’s early rocket experiments near Roswell to a mock-up of the International Space Station. We also paid tribute to the International Space Hall of Fame commemorating the achievements of men and women who have furthered humanity’s exploration of space.
White Sands National Monument is in the northern Chihuahuan Desert. It’s known for its dramatic landscape of rare white gypsum sand dunes. Trails through the dunes include the raised Interdune Boardwalk and the Dune Life Nature Trail, dotted with interpretive exhibits on wildlife and other features. Dunes Drive is a looped road from the White Sands Visitor Center to the dune field and includes several parking lots along the way where one could enjoy a nice family lunch.
White Sands National Monument
