Had we been at White Sands 2 weeks later, we would not have been chased off by the rangers! I got so enraptured by the waxing crescent moon and Venus nearby (not visible in this photo), I lost track of the time. We had to be out by 8:00 PM (the rangers came by at 7:40, they were very nice about telling us we had to go!). Had we been there for the full moon 2 weeks later, we could have stayed a little longer. The park stays open on the night of the full moon each month for moonlight walks on the dunes.
We drove up to the Sacramento Mountains on Oct. 2. It was a drastic change from the desert and white sand dunes we had seen the day before! As we gained elevation, the plant life changed a great deal. The plants went from yuccas, cholla cactus, and ocotillos to aspens, firs, and pines. This was a view of a canyon in the lower elevation of the mountain.
We stopped in by the Forest Service office in Cloudcroft to get a map for the Osha trail. The trail is named for a wildflower, not the government branch of OSHA! :) The trail is an easy 2.5 mile loop (the little dotted trail in the middle of this map). Many of the trails in the area used to be an old railroad bed, so once you get up to them they are nice, level trails.
