CoreyK

White Sands is well worth the visit if you’re in the El Paso/Las Cruces area. It’s just about the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life.

1) Get gas in Las Cruces. The next gas station is 50 miles away in Alamogordo.

2) Bring toys. A sled would be perfect.

3) Bring sun block. The reflection off of the sand makes the sun even stronger.

4) Bring tons of water. It’s so dry, your lips start cracking in minutes.

5) Bring more toys. White Sands is like a winter sports park in the hot desert where sand replaces snow. Don’t bring skis or a snowboard, unless you don’t mind it getting scratched up. The sand can be coarse.

On my latest cross country trip, I finally got to spend some time in Texas. We entered from the 30 in Texarkana and spent our first night at a Motel 6 there. From Texarkana, we booked it to Austin and spent the night bar hopping on Sixth Street. The next day, we had cheap breakfast at an all-natural breakfast joint in town before heading west. That’s where the Texas terrain went from hills, farms and forests to straight up desert. We spent the final night in El Paso.

Texas lived up to its reputation. It’s a strange and wonderful place. Now I think I understand America. From the smiling country bumpkins in Eastern Texas to the shitkickers in West Texas to the freaks and hippies in Austin, Texas is a land of colorful characters.