Solar Observatory and White Sands Photos

National Solar Observatory

There wasn’t much going on during our visit, it was a Sunday morning, after all. But the buildings were impressive and they let us into a couple of them. The cool part of this visit is saying that we were there. Also, some of the views along the way were wonderful. It was also freezing cold!

One of the observatories.

Another observatory.

Bob at one of the overlooks along the road up the mountain. The Observatory is at the top. See White Sands in the distance?

Another view of White Sands in the distance.

White Sands National Monument

What a fun place! It was definitely one of my favorites. If you ever have a chance, take your kids there. It is worth a day of your time to expore this amazing natural wonder. For those who love biology, the native species have evolved to live on the white sand in record time, less than 10,000 years. Its quite the wonder.

About the sands. Another interesting fact is how fast the dessert creatures adapted. Spiders, lizards, and other dessert animals have lost their pigment and blend in with the sand, and it all happened over just a few thousand years of evolution. That’s pretty quick.

Sled marks on the dunes.

It’s a fine powder. It doesn’t stick or get in your shoes.

It’s a very beautiful place.

Bob at the beginning of the boardwalk trail.

Bob along the boardwalk over the dunes.

The scenery was very beautiful. I wish the pictures did it justice.

Little dessert plants living in the sands

Our car in a sea of white.

View from the top of one of the dunes.

A family of sledders. Notice they’re in shorts. It was a beautiful day.

Many people were sunbathing. It was so strange to see all that white and then see people running around in shorts and swim suits. In my brain, white means snow, so it took a bit to adjust.