Western New Mexico

We drove out to White Sands, New Mexico where the first atomic bombs were tested and went for a walk in the dunes. It's actually a gypsum deposit, not silica sand as we expected, and though it was a blistering hot day we were able to walk barefoot on the dunes. Many people had sleds and snowboards to surf the dunes with. It was truly an amazing sight.

275 square miles of desert - the world's largest gypsum dune field.

White Sands, New Mexico. More info HERE

We then stopped at the National Radio Telescope Observatory (VLA) in Socorro, New Mexico and toured the facility. This is where the movie Contact was filmed. We saw a jackrabbit and a lot of antelope and steer on the road, but the most impressive part was the array of satellite dishes. 

The Very Large Array (VLA) is one of the world's premier astronomical radio observatories. The VLA consists of 27 antennas arranged in a huge Y pattern up to 36km (22 miles) across -- roughly one and a half times the size of Washington, DC.

Very Large Array (VLA) New Mexico. More info HERE

The Very Large Array (VLA) is one of the world's premier astronomical radio observatories. The VLA consists of 27 antennas arranged in a huge Y pattern up to 36km (22 miles) across -- roughly one and a half times the size of Washington, DC.

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