Saturday, May 7, 2022

2022 - West - May 7 - NM - Dripping Springs, White Sands NP, Three Rivers Petroglyphs and the worlds largest Pistachio

 We have had quite a day. We started out this morning with a 3-mile hike in Dripping Springs (Las Cruces).  



Normally there is a small waterfall here but things have been so dry.  Still a pretty spot.


White Sands National Park truly lives up to its name.  When the Permian Sea retreated millions of years ago, it left behind layers of gypsum. Later water from melting glaciers dissolved the mineral leaving this snow-white sand.



Upon exiting the park I made Vaughan pull over so I could admire the beautiful cactus in bloom with the sand dunes in the distance.



Then it was on to PistachioLand and the world's largest pistachio in Alamogordo. (Okay, so it's not a real Pistachio - it's still pretty cool.)


Three Rivers Petroglyphs is just north of Tularosa. These were created by the Jornada Mogolion people between 900 and 1400AD. There are approximately 21,000 glyphs within a 50 acre area.








We took a short detour up to Mescalero to visit the casino at the Inn of the Mountain God which is part of the Mescalero Apache reservation. The lodge and casino are on a beautiful mountain lake.

On our drive home we were treated to an incredible sunset over Las Cruces.






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