Saturday, March 16, 2013

Texas, New Mexico Trip continues...

This is the third post for our trip to Texas to visit our oldest son, Andrew.  It was a trip filled with interesting places. 

Leaving the Lodge at Cloudcroft for the last time, we stop for a bagel breakfast.  Before heading out of the Sacramento Mountains, we hiked the OSHA Trail in Lincoln National Forest.  This is a 2.2 mile trail but I think we hiked more than 3 miles somehow.  Beautiful, and with snow to remind us of Michigan.



Next stop White Sands National Monument, about 35 miles from Cloudcroft.
Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world's great natural wonders, the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert, creating the world's largest gypsum dunefield. White Sands National Monument preserves a major portion of this unique dune field, along with the plants and animals that live here.





 This is a big cottonwood tree. It is almost completely buried by the dune, but as long as it can keep some leaves above the sand, it can survive until the dune moves on.

Cool place.

Now south 100 miles to El Paso, Texas to go for a ride on the Wyler Aerial Tramway.
 
The Wyler Aerial Tramway at Franklin Mountains State Park features an aerial cable car (gondola) situated on 195 acres of rugged mountain and rock formations on the east side of the Franklin Mountains.
The Swiss-made gondolas travel to Ranger Peak on a 2,600 feet long, 1 3/8 inch diameter steel cable. While waiting to depart, you can view part of the machinery and mechanism of the system through a window located on the south side of the base station.  The 4 minute ride soars above a vast canyon that is 240 feet deep in some places.  From Ranger Peak, 5,632 feet above sea level, you can enjoy the view of 7,000 square miles encompassing three states and two nations.
 Looking south to Mexico, the Rio Grande and the U.S./Mexico border runs across the center of the photo.

 
     Riding down.
So now we are to head back to home in Midland, some 300 miles away.  It still amazes me how huge Texas is! 
We need to get out of the big city of El Paso, find something to eat and drive home.  We stopped at Brisket Bar-B-Q another place where you get a nice chunk of meat right off the pit. 
I dozed in the truck on the way home, but suddenly there was a border patrol officer looking in through the open window. He asked me if I was a U.S. citizen.  I mumbled, "Si Senor". 

This was a long day but again so much fun.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

That was quite a trip! Beautiful photos.

Plants Amaze Me said...

Thanks, Jerry. It was quite a trip. I have only one day of the trip left to post. It has been so sunny out, no time to sit at the computer. Thanks for stopping by.
:)

Anonymous said...

Nice job! I went to Classic and clicked on View Comments and found this. I do like all those options of viewing. You are so techy! M :)

New Hampshire Gardener said...

I like the new layout! For awhile there I thought I'd never be able to leave another comment but I figured it out. (I think)
My son was stationed in Texas for awhile and he said the sky seemed huge. It must have something to do with the flatness of the area. I love that 6th picture from the top with the tree against an amazingly blue sky and bright white sand. It's beautiful!

Plants Amaze Me said...

Anonymous, Thanks. Yes, you did find the options for viewing. With this new format I lost my dashboard- to make new posts, or to change the format back. I think I found a way to get there maybe? I am not techy!
:)

Plants Amaze Me said...

Thanks, Allen. I was just saying to Anonymous I lost my dashboard with this new format. I'll give it a try for awhile. Blogspot doesn't always work correctly, maybe wordpress is better. I do like the comment section on Wordpress.

Anyway, the blue sky was so blue. Maybe the white sand had something to do with the sky looking so blue? I think the flatness of the land makes the sky seem bigger. There is just land and sky around Midland.

I'm glad you were able to comment, it is a bit tricky.
:)

Anonymous said...

You really responded to the border patrol officer ""Si Senor"? Hahaha