As the song goes, “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas.” But, I’ve adjusted them to say, “White Sands Christmas” because I landed in desert lands again this holiday season. The quest for dry and warm led me from California to Arizona, New Mexico, and the greater Southwest (Utah and Nevada next.)
Water, within 6 inches of the surface,
holds sand dunes together
Sand saucer fun 
Plant roots create sand pedestals as the dunes shift around them 
To survive, plants grow tall enough to propagate seeds 
Thickness of sand
The sand dunes cover such a wide area that you can actually see them from space.
Speaking of outer space, nearby Alamogordo has an interesting four-story museum of rockets, capsules, and space exploration on the mountainside. I visited it and another small museum in Ruidoso devoted to this resort area and its history (including Billy the Kid.) These places are easily within a day’s trip of El Paso and Las Cruces.
For photos, see the additional page “White Sands Christmas” accessed through the Main Menu.
Until the New Year …
Merry Christmas to all!