Part-Time Paradise

Worked just fine!  They just drove to our site and parked so traffic could get by.  They even brought their dogs!  We had a great visit. 😊

My wife and I went a year or so ago and the food had gone way down. Show was still good but just not worth the money to us. 

My wife and I have talked about buying a trailer and see the country once I get out of the Army.  It's taken some convincing and selling, but renting a trailer last year she started to get the bug.  We've flirted with the idea to buy a trailer when we move this summer.  Not the "dream trailer" we want when we're old farts, but one that's inexpensive, we could kick around in, and sell if necessary (being inexpensive we won't lose our shirts).  
Today as we were driving to lunch for my birthday, out of the blue she asked me if I still want to buy a trailer and she is really excited about the thought.  I can't wait to move now.  We're moving to the DC area which isn't too far for a FW trip.  Happy birthday to me!

Nice start!  I can't wait to see and hear about the "boneyard".

Yay... more of the SW!!   My brother-in-law was stationed in Sierra Vista for several years.  We visited once... decent town.  Your kiddos are so cute :) 

Yes!  We LOVED White Sands!  Couldn't believe how large it was!  And you were right... no problems with the rig.  It's really nice that they let you drive in there with your home.  Makes staying all day, super easy!
Loved the rest of your trip!  Isn't Capitol Reef amazing?!  I couldn't believe the colors there.  Bryce Canyon too.  All of the SW actually.  Hard not to love it all.  Arches in on our list... but not for a few years.  Next year I'm hoping to check the balloon fiesta in Albuquerque off the bucket list.  If we get to go, we'll also hit Mesa Verde.  Really wanted to do that this past trip... but (even with 4 weeks), just not enough time.  Have you hit Zion yet?  If not... that NP is a MUST do!
Thanks for taking us along on the journey.  2,000 miles in 9 days... y'all are crazy!  Great times!!

Wow!  What a great trip!   Awesome panoramic pics!  I wanna go now!

I love western trip reports.  That scenery never gets old.  

Great update!
I really want to drag the camper out to that section of the US, one of these days I'm going to.
Thanks for posting the trip report!
WBI

Congratulations!

Wow. That was an epic trip. I'm sure that made a big impact on the kids. It did when I was a kid. 

Wonderful pictures!  Sounds like an amazing adventure 😊  
We did the SW this year and absolutely LOVED it.  Can't wait to go back!
Thanks for taking the time, to write a TR.  Excited to follow along!

Happy Birthday, and watch that Old Fart stuff.  Just kidding.  If you haven't bought anything yet, and have some time before you make a purchase, give some thought to attending a large RV show.  There, you can compare and contrast the latest in RVs, and check out various floor plans.  Beware of "eye candy", fancy stuff, that adds to the price, but not necessarily the enjoyment or experiences.  The self proclaimed largest RV show in the country is in Hershey PA in mid-September, which is only a few hours from DC.   You can see any type of RV there.  Good Luck and best wishes.

Happy birthday!!!
Congrats!!!
Btw, can you have your wife call mine?  Lol

Happy birthday and go buy it before she changes her mind 😂

Happy birthday!!  Sounds like a good plan.

Rookie TR, but it's a place that we've visited several times.  Seemed worth a shot.  I'm also going to try using Google Photos to link.  Maybe utter failure.  We'll see.
 
First off, I live in El Paso.  It's a short 1 hr 15 min trip to White Sands National Monument (WSNM).  We loaded up the cooler, sleds, sand toys, and lawn chairs for a ride into the desert around 1pm and hit the road.  WSNM is out in the middle of nowhere. If you are approaching from the SW (which I was), the nearest town is Las Cruces is about and hour away.  It's a big town with plenty to eat, shop, RV resupply, etc.  Coming from the NE, it's Alamagordo and is about 20 min away.  It has the essentials, but nothing mind blowing.  WSNM is the only oasis in between.  Get your fuel or potty stop in before you cross into no man's land.  
 
We arrived just after 2pm.  We drove towards the back of the park.  We found a pull out in between the Backcountry camping trailhead and the Heart of Sands picnic area (https://www.nps.gov/whsa/planyourvisit/map-files.htm#UnigridMap).  The two picnic areas have tables with shades on them and some scattered charcoal grills.  Because we wanted to be on our own and were on a cold cut diet, we opted for seclusion.  Once we hit the ground, the kids jumped straight into sledding and playing in the massive sandbox.
 

Prepping the sledding luge.  The NPS plows the sand regularly, so you might want a shovel to make the end of the run a slope instead of a ramp!

Brother still sandbox playing.  Sis making another run on the slopes.

Look out below!
 
Eventually I gave them the idea to dig a huge hole.  Why not?!  Huge hole.
 

FIL and MIL helping the kids start their hole.

A little deeper.

Brother about waist deep.  
 
 
We set up our chairs and table for an easy cold cut sandwich dinner and waited for the sunset.

MIL and DW watching the kids sled on the hill in front of them.

This is the best I could do with my phone, but the sunset and the following twilight were unreal.  The sand and dunes really plays with the light.
 
This place is incredible.  My pictures don't begin to encompass the expanse of the place.  In our prior trips we've hiked some of the trails and the kids picked up their Jr Ranger badges (a program that they absolutely love by the way).  If you want to visit I recommend three things:
-Buy sleds before you get here.  The old saucer sleds are the best.  They'll sell you a new one at the gift shop for $16 and buy it back when you are done for $3-4.  
-Bring baby powder to help removing sand from skin.  The sand is the finest stuff I've ever experienced...on the order of table salt.  It will stick to a kid that's gone A over A on a sled and the baby powder really helps knock the stuff off.
-Pack in food.  There is nothing other than some minor lickies and chewies in the gift shop.  You'll have to drive into Alamagordo to get a full meal.  There is water (for bottles, not RVs) at the gift shop and vault toilets scattered throughout the park.
If you are staying all day, especially in the summer, a canopy for shade wouldn't be a bad idea.  It's super bright from the reflection off the sand.
 
Anyway, we watched the sun go down around 615pm and had to boogie out before the gate locked at 7pm.  Again, we love this place and make the trip up when out-of-town visitors are here or when we get an itch for the beach and/or sledding.
 
Thanks for reading.
 
 
Edit:  I fixed the pictures.  Thanks bdm for the explanation here:  
Edit 2:  I added the distances to the nearest towns.
 
 

Wow that place looks so cool! Sledding on sand is looks much better than snow! No wet freezing mittens, no boots falling off kids feet, no frost bite, everyone can put there arms down lol! What a great day!

Haha, yes.  When you're traveling from Georgia...the 4 hour drive from Albuquerque feels much more doable 
Thanks for the feeback on the roads!

Thank you for reminding me of this place!  We're heading out for the SW, at the end of April.  We may need to take this one on, at the end of our trip!  :) 

Great looking place.
Now is everyone in long pants/sleeves because of the:
Temperature?  Was it cold ?
Sun, to prevent sunburn ?
To keep most of the sand there and not stuck in places it shouldn't be?
 

Excellent trip report.
So, what's the backstory on this place?  Where did all of that sand come from?  It looks like the sand found along the Florida panhandle coast, which supposedly is ground granite from ancient glaciers.  That's always amazed me.
TCD

Rookie TR, but it's a place that we've visited several times.  Seemed worth a shot.  I'm also going to try using Google Photos to link.  Maybe utter failure.  We'll see.
 
First off, I live in El Paso.  It's a short 1 hr 15 min trip to White Sands National Monument (WSNM).  We loaded up the cooler, sleds, sand toys, and lawn chairs for a ride into the desert around 1pm and hit the road.  WSNM is out in the middle of nowhere. If you are approaching from the SW (which I was), the nearest town is Las Cruces is about and hour away.  It's a big town with plenty to eat, shop, RV resupply, etc.  Coming from the NE, it's Alamagordo and is about 20 min away.  It has the essentials, but nothing mind blowing.  WSNM is the only oasis in between.  Get your fuel or potty stop in before you cross into no man's land.  
 
We arrived just after 2pm.  We drove towards the back of the park.  We found a pull out in between the Backcountry camping trailhead and the Heart of Sands picnic area (https://www.nps.gov/whsa/planyourvisit/map-files.htm#UnigridMap).  The two picnic areas have tables with shades on them and some scattered charcoal grills.  Because we wanted to be on our own and were on a cold cut diet, we opted for seclusion.  Once we hit the ground, the kids jumped straight into sledding and playing in the massive sandbox.
 

Prepping the sledding luge.  The NPS plows the sand regularly, so you might want a shovel to make the end of the run a slope instead of a ramp!

Brother still sandbox playing.  Sis making another run on the slopes.

Look out below!
 
Eventually I gave them the idea to dig a huge hole.  Why not?!  Huge hole.
 

FIL and MIL helping the kids start their hole.

A little deeper.

Brother about waist deep.  
 
 
We set up our chairs and table for an easy cold cut sandwich dinner and waited for the sunset.

MIL and DW watching the kids sled on the hill in front of them.

This is the best I could do with my phone, but the sunset and the following twilight were unreal.  The sand and dunes really plays with the light.
 
This place is incredible.  My pictures don't begin to encompass the expanse of the place.  In our prior trips we've hiked some of the trails and the kids picked up their Jr Ranger badges (a program that they absolutely love by the way).  If you want to visit I recommend three things:
-Buy sleds before you get here.  The old saucer sleds are the best.  They'll sell you a new one at the gift shop for $16 and buy it back when you are done for $3-4.  
-Bring baby powder to help removing sand from skin.  The sand is the finest stuff I've ever experienced...on the order of table salt.  It will stick to a kid that's gone A over A on a sled and the baby powder really helps knock the stuff off.
-Pack in food.  There is nothing other than some minor lickies and chewies in the gift shop.  You'll have to drive into Alamagordo to get a full meal.  There is water (for bottles, not RVs) at the gift shop and vault toilets scattered throughout the park.
If you are staying all day, especially in the summer, a canopy for shade wouldn't be a bad idea.  It's super bright from the reflection off the sand.
 
Anyway, we watched the sun go down around 615pm and had to boogie out before the gate locked at 7pm.  Again, we love this place and make the trip up when out-of-town visitors are here or when we get an itch for the beach and/or sledding.
 
Thanks for reading.
 
 
Edit:  I fixed the pictures.  Thanks bdm for the explanation here:  
Edit 2:  I added the distances to the nearest towns.
 
 

That looks like so much fun!

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