From Deming, NM to Alamogordo, NM., White Sands Nat'l Park, Space History Museum

White Sands Nat'l Monument

Alamogordo, NM. - The trip from Deming to Alamogordo was tough with some long uphill pulls. I went through Las Cruces and then a long valley which contains White Sands National Park and Holloman AFB. Parked at the Elks in Alamogordo and toured White Sands NP. Driving into the park made me think that I was in heavy snow. The sand is gypsum and so white you would swear it was snow. Holloman AFB is the home of the new F117 stealth fighter and I saw several on training flights. At the north end of the AFB and White Sands Missile Test Range is an alternate space shuttle landing strip which was used once when Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg were both socked in due to bad weather. Also at the north end is the site of the very first explosion of an atomic bomb. Trinity Site is open only 2 days a year for visits and I missed it by a few days. Hope to hit it correctly on another trip. In Alamogordo is a great museum, the Museum of Space History. Extremely well done and a don’t miss if you are near there.

Summary:

Elks Lodges - 3

Skp Parks - 2

Public RV Parks - 2

National Parks -4