sands
Next I made my way to White Sands National Monument, not far from El Paso. I'd been around people every day at Hueco Tanks, making friends and having a great time. But for personal reasons, it was good for me to be alone next, and White Sands provided a pretty good opportunity despite being jam-packed due to spring break. I camped two nights there out on the dunes, enjoying the stars and the photographic canvas.
It happened to be my birthday while I was there, and I celebrated it in a new way: by waking up before dawn and breaking camp, to shoot in complete isolation in a different location.
Throughout the writing of this blog, I've mostly posted the second-tier shots, leaving my favorites for the backlog, which is hungry and needs to be fed.
After leaving, getting some gas and groceries, I headed west through Las Cruces. On the way was a museum for the White Sands Missile Range, which contains the site of the first atomic bomb explosion during WWII. I was interested in that, so I stopped in and checked it out, but was mostly underwhelmed by the exhibits.
You won't be able to read it in the picture below, but this anti-tank missle "Dart" was/is controlled by wire: an electrical cable unspooled as it flew, providing a secure communication channel for the guidance system. Crazy!
