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Does anyone know anything about White Sands? I looked online because of the military/testing installation but it looked like it wasn't a town, is it just a testing place? Thanks for any help you can give me on this.
I did training there in the military, and although I know there is a park and monuments, i'm pretty sure there is nothing else there. No restaurants, etc. So no town. I could be wrong but in all my time there I never saw any such stuff.
I drove through White Sands in June. Didn't see much but the vista was unusual and beautiful.
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Originally Posted by Ankhharu
I did training there in the military, and although I know there is a park and monuments, i'm pretty sure there is nothing else there. No restaurants, etc. So no town. I could be wrong but in all my time there I never saw any such stuff.
There's no restaurants, shops, town stuff. It's a military place. Also a tourist spot. You can go, bring your bathing suit & "surf" down the sanddunes. At the tourist building I think there's a vending machine & maybe some T-shirts & magnets for tourists. A lot of people go during the spring/summer to walk/ play in the sand. You can pack a lunch & have a picnic. The sand is so soft. It's perfect beach sand...w/o the water. Other than that, there's nothing surrounding it.
You are talking about two different places. There are two White Sands.
There is White Sands National Monument which is the park with picnicking, hiking, and miles of white sand dunes preserved for posterity. It's a great place for an evening picnic and there are beautiful sunsets..
Then there is the much larger White Sands Missile Range which includes some dunes and miles of unpopulated mountain and desert area in south central NM. There is a military base (you could call it a town) in the shadows of the Organ Mountains, just east of Las Cruces. No restaurants, but I believe there is some sort of dining available for employees and visitors to the installation.
I heard on the news that White Sands Missle range is a back up site for landing of the space shuttle.
Today they will attempt to land in Florida or Calif, but both sights have possible weather problems. White Sands is a go for landing. If they use it, it would be only the second time a space shuttle has landed there. First was the Columbia in 1982.
I am assuming that locals can't get on the sight to view the shuttle landing if it occurs.
Does anyone know anything about White Sands? I looked online because of the military/testing installation but it looked like it wasn't a town, is it just a testing place? Thanks for any help you can give me on this.
There is no town there, but it is within very easy driving distance of Alamagordo.
Definitely fun place to spend the day if you're in the area and you have time. (White Sands that is, not Alamagordo.)
There is a small gift shop and back when I went they had moonlight tours of the dunes and very rarely you can go to Trinity Site, the first nuclear bomb was detonated there. Apparently the blast turned the sand to green glass. We never did get to go on that tour (though I think it is but once a year) and it will be a must next time we are down to visit.
The view is stunning and the monument is so peaceful. The brilliant white sands against a deep blue sky makes picutures really lovely and you can see both the mountain ranges that make up the valley from this point really well and most days they look kind of purple. So if you are a photography buff or just want to see some lovely scenery and relax, this might be a really fun place to go.
To the west and slightly north is the missile/bombing range. Usually these sites are strictly off limits to people other than the workers. I would not try to venture up there unless you have an escort and a pass..as getting too close to some US installations might wind up in you being pinned face down on the ground with a group of MP's yelling at you pointing guns at your head. Does NOT make for a fun vacation, while option 1 certainly does. We once had a pizza delivery guy at Cannon take a wrong turn and somehow venture out onto the flightline. Imagine his dismay when he had about 3 vans packed with MP's coming after him..
If you go to http://www.af.mil and select "sites" you may be able to find more info about the range, if not then try a search on the AF site. Last I knew they are the branch that runs the range though I could be mistaken.
I heard on the news that White Sands Missle range is a back up site for landing of the space shuttle.
Today they will attempt to land in Florida or Calif, but both sights have possible weather problems. White Sands is a go for landing. If they use it, it would be only the second time a space shuttle has landed there. First was the Columbia in 1982.
I am assuming that locals can't get on the sight to view the shuttle landing if it occurs.
Jim
I was a kid when it landed here the first time and I remember it vividly.
I was glued to the NASA site all day today hoping. Here in Las Cruces if I drove 15 east on US 70 from the top of San Augustine Pass the view would've been incredible. Wouldn't have seen the landing itself but the shuttle would've been clearly visible. Sadly, it only seems to rain in Florida when I'm on vacation there.
You are talking about two different places. There are two White Sands.
There is White Sands National Monument which is the park with picnicking, hiking, and miles of white sand dunes preserved for posterity. It's a great place for an evening picnic and there are beautiful sunsets..
Then there is the much larger White Sands Missile Range which includes some dunes and miles of unpopulated mountain and desert area in south central NM. There is a military base (you could call it a town) in the shadows of the Organ Mountains, just east of Las Cruces. No restaurants, but I believe there is some sort of dining available for employees and visitors to the installation.
You're right Domino, Sorry. I dont know what I was thinking. It's the holidays....
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White Sands
We once had a pizza delivery guy at Cannon take a wrong turn and somehow venture out onto the flightline. Imagine his dismay when he had about 3 vans packed with MP's coming after him..
