Happy New Year from White Sands National Monument.

We left ABQ this morning and arrived at White Sands at about 2:30 this afternoon. After checking in with the volunteer coordinator and getting keys to the place, we were shown the area where we were to park our RV. There were already two other volunteer RV's in place and some miscellaneous trailers; so, the choices of spots were limited. We had to clear away the dried Russian thistles to make room for the RV, and as usual it took multiple tries at placing the motorhome at just the right spot and right angle and right distance from our neighbor. In the end, Shannon was happy with the placement...I hope... This photo shows us pretty much finishing up with getting settled for the next 3 months, and in the background on the table are two growlers from the Marble Brewery in ABQ which helped immensely in the settling in process. Thanks Mary and Beth.

White sands indeed. We think. This is one of the views from our home site and our first real glimpse of white sand. We think. There is a single loop road that heads into the monument, and it goes near these sand dunes. Tomorrow is not a work day for us, and we plan to go exploring. The large valley we are in is surrounded by mountains. The evening show was the sunset which bathed in color the mountains on the east side, and the mountains on the west side of the valley were outlined with a golden aura as the sun set behind them. It is very dark here, no security lights where we are, and nighttime sky watching should be excellent. When we crossed the mountain range from Las Cruses to this valley, we were thrilled and awed to see the large valley with brown sand ringed by the mountains spread before us. It was spectacular. And of course there were signs and gated roads everywhere related to the missile test range. So far, we saw no overhead, streaking missiles. But maybe they were too fast...?

Anyway lots of new things to see and explore and learn about. We look forward to the experience. We couldn't think of a better way to usher in a new year. Hope your new year too holds promises of new adventures and new beginnings in your lives.