Land of Enchantment

New Mexico is called the Land of Enchantment for a very good reason. This huge state has desert, high mountains, lava fields, white sands, and much more. Our goal on this latest adventure was to explore space and the white sand dunes.

First, we went sledding in White Sands, using regular domed sleds. My daughter is certain that they call them "flying saucer domes" due to Roswell being such a short distance away. Perhaps the aliens needed to land in saucers so that they, too, could sled on the dunes? While the temperature was high, the sand was cool. It felt luxurious to walk in the sand barefoot.

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Next we visited the New Mexico Museum of Space History and IMAX theater. This little treat was perfect for us in our current explorations of space. We spent the entire day going between the two buildings, enjoying the exhibits and the shows. We capped off the day with a Halloween costume purchase for my little daughter. She is going as a NASA astronaut.

The next day, we made our way to Sunspot, NM, where the National Sun Observatory and the Apache Point Observatory are located. Sunspot is another hidden gem. We had the road to ourselves and the surroundings couldn't have been more beautiful. We were told that the view was of an area larger than the state of Connecticut! It did seem like we could see forever.

Then, of course, our trip wasn't complete without going back to the dunes on our way out of the area. We took the time right before our drive to sit in a zen-like state and listen to the silence. It was very refreshing.