Sledding Under a Stormy Sky: A Night at White Sands

Alamogordo, NM

Today with The Grand Western Tour brought us one of the most unforgettable evenings of the whole trip, and it came with a little rain.

But first, a word about yesterday. We had a wonderfully restful day at the resort in Tucson, full of swimming and soaking up the sunshine. For dinner, we headed to Carrabba’s, which felt like a proper full circle moment since we ate there back in our first week, and afterward we dropped into Sprouts and Crumbl for a few treats.

This morning we hit the road for a five and a half hour drive from Arizona into New Mexico, arriving in Alamogordo around 5:00. According to the road signs, this town is home to the world’s largest pistachio, which is exactly the kind of fact we live for out here. After a brief stop at the hotel, we headed to a buffet style dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings to fuel up.

Then came the main event: White Sands. It had been raining on and off all day, and sure enough, the rain picked back up just as we were driving into the park. Everyone was such a good sport, hopping off the bus and into the weather without a single complaint. We grabbed the sleds from under the bus and took off running up the dunes, and right on cue, the rain stopped.

We spent the next couple of hours sledding down the dunes and watching one of the most dramatic sunsets we have ever seen, with veils of rain hanging in the distance and the occasional bolt of lightning flashing on the horizon. As the light finally faded, we made our way back to the hotel, sandy and completely happy.

Some days you just have to run into the rain. Until tomorrow!