Sledding the Sand Dunes!

This blog entry is brought to you by Eddie and George.  For those of you new to this blog, George is a stuffed panda bear that was in Dave's crib when he came home from the hospital.  Eddie is a stuffed brown bear given to Kathy at a very early age (2 or 3, she can't remember) by her cousin, Eddie Cochran.  After Dave and Kathy married, they have been faithful companions, lo, these many years. They have enjoyed their RVing experience to date, but because of their advanced age, Eddie and George normally only get to explore the campground, but today was the day they broke out of their routine.  They were going to accompany Dave and Kathy on their latest adventure - sledding down sand dunes.  How cool is that!

George took this photo as they approached the White Sands National Monument Visitors Center.

After watching the introductory video about the park, the boys couldn't contain their excitement. They just had to get out and explore.  While not the best day - cloudy and windy - it did cut down on the glare and the dunes seemed alive - blowing and shifting.

We finally picked the perfect dune.  Dave went first to make sure it was safe.

We got our turn next.  Click here to watch us soar down the slope.  You will especially like the spin move we did at the end.

Eddie and George sledding down the sand dune

You know, the hardest part of sledding down sand dunes is the climb back up!  After a few runs, we were tuckered out.  We don't get out much.  After today, we'll have to talk Dave and Kathy to taking us out more often.  We learned a lot of cool stuff.  Did you know that White Sands is a National Monument, not a National Park, which means the President of the United States himself picked it.  He didn't need Congress or anyone else.  He just said, "Save and protect this place," and they did.

We also learned a lot of cool stuff watching the video.  Once upon a time (about 4,000 years ago), there was this big lake called Lake Otero.  Due to climate change, it dried up.  The old lake bed contained lots and lots of gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate) which dried into cystaline form as selenite.  This stuff is real fragile. When the winds blew, it just crumbled into sand and blew into dunes.  You can see it taking flight in the photo below.

However, according to Legend of Pavla Blanca (the great white ghost of the Great White Sands), what you are seeing is actually the spirit of Manuela, the fiance of of a young Spanish Conquistador named Hernando de Luna.  Mr. Luna's expedition was ambushed on the edge of Great White Sands and he was presumed killed.  Manuela set out to seek her betrothed and was never heard from again.  It is said that the ghost of this beautiful Spanish maiden still haunts the dunes.  Now, every time the wind blows strongly, her ghost arises from the dunes and wanders the Great White Sands:

Now that you are feeling all creeped out by that ghost story, here is a photo that Eddie took.  He has a very juvenile sense of humor, as do the stupid tourist who felt it was necessary to deface a National Monument with Smiley Faces.

We both agreed that the walk around the Nature Trail was really cool.  The little kit fox that lives in this neighborhood has to work hard for his supper.  Weighing in at only five pounds, he makes us look large.

Here is a photo of the Ecotone.  Don't worry.  I had to look it up, too.  This is where two different ecosystems collide.  Here the dunes are slowly encroaching on the desert.  An ecotone exhibits characteristics of each of the ecological zones that meet there, and hence can be very rich in the variety of flora and fauna present.

What is so cool about White Sands is that you think you are in the dry desert with all this blowing sand, but just a few feet below the surface is a large water table.  In some places, the water lies only 2 or 3 feet below the surface.  The plants just send their roots down to get all the water they need.  As the sand dunes blow over them, they simply grow taller, allowing their leaves to stick out the top of the dune.

We also got a chance to hike out to a playa, which is a small shallow depression that fills with rainwater, and may at one time have been a true lake. This playa was already dry when we got there, so we had a chance to see some of the gypsum up close.

Dave took this picture of Kathy holding a small piece of the gypsum.  It is very light and fragile.

We really enjoyed our outing and hope to go on more in the future.  If you think we (Eddie and George) should get out more, please let Dave and Kathy know by posting comments on their Facebook page.

FREE GEORGE AND EDDIE!