Space Sand

Thursday in Alamogordo was a day for unwinding.  A trip to the local Bark Park to get some of the energy out of Sasha, followed by a trip to Tularosa, about 13 miles north, started our day. The dog park was a nice, enclosed grassy area with agility equipment and other canine friends to play with. A couple of hours there gave us a chance to meet a local lady who recommended a Mexican restaurant in Tularosa for lunch. As it turned out, we couldn't find the restaurant, but stopped at the Al-a-Mor for a shoe leather burger, microwaved french fries, and a reheated enchilada. Not something to write home about.

Back in Alamogordo, we stopped by Albertson's for a few groceries and a cup of Starbucks coffee. Off to the Bark Park again, with another hour or so of play for Sasha and some new found friends. Our evening was spent doing laundry and relaxing.

Today, Good Friday, we drove southwest to White Sands National Monument. This is a place that we visited a few years ago and came away with tremendous memories of our dog at that time, Pris, running with abandon across the dunes. Guess what, we were able to recreate that with Sasha today!

Sasha had a great time running as we walked the dunes, but every now and then she would stop to check on us and see what was happening around her.

White Sands continues to amaze and awe!

On the return to Alamogordo, we dropped Sasha off at the motorhome and went into town to visit the New Mexico Museum of Space History. The site includes an IMAX Theater, showing, among other films, a planetarium program based on New Mexico skies. Also available for viewing are the John P. Stapp Air and Space Park which displays an amazing array of rockets, missiles, and rocket engines; the burial site for HAM, the first "Astrochimp" launched on a Mercury capsule on January 31, 1961; an astronaut Memorial Garden dedicated to the memory of those who died aboard Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia; a comprehensive research library; and the Main Exhibits Building. We enjoyed our time there.

Any space museum wouldn't be complete with out a specimen of Moon rock! This is encased in a plastic pyramid which allows a view of all surfaces.

A container used to return Moon samples is on display.  I always though they just used some ZipLocks.

A backpack used to keep astronauts alive while on the Moon is on display. It provided up to seven hours of breathable air, water, and power for communication.

A pretty good day in Alamogordo! The last two days have been very windy, with gusts of 50 mph, and warm temps. Today the breeze is down to 5 to 10 mph, and the skies are overcast, which keeps the temps down. Tomorrow will be our last day here, and hopefully we'll end our stay with a bang.