BOU AVENUE
White Sands National Park And PistachioLand
Taking a rest day, Zosia Zgolak and I visited New Mexico's White Sands National Park on 27 December 2022.  While this would be Zosia's first time visiting, I had already been here in 2011 when the park was still designated as a National Monument.  As far as I could tell, little has changed in the intervening years except that there seemed to be more tourists now which is a not-so-unexpected current trend with US National Parks in general.  We started with very brief walks along the Interdune Boardwalk and near the Roadrunner Picnic Area.  While I was willing to do the Alkali Flat Trail hike for a second time, Zosia seemed content to just walk the shorter Backcountry Camping Trail loop.  After this easy walk, we returned to the Roadrunner Picnic Area to have a pleasant lunch before leaving the park.
Where "Backcountry" means you're only, at most, a 30-minute walk back to the car!

Zosia begins hiking the Backcountry Camping Trail (loop) at White Sands National Park.

Looks just like virgin snow!

These dunes have not yet been disturbed recently by human traffic.

 

Greetings from White Sands National Park! Sonny and Zosia pose together about halfway through the loop.
We should have gone and climbed Sierra Blanca Peak on this same day. Zosia completes the loop with Sierra Blanca Peak visible on the distant left horizon.
GPS track in case you get lost! Total Distance:  3.0 kilometres
Round-Trip Time:  1 hour 7 minutes

GPX Data
After leaving White Sands National Park, Zosia and I stopped in the nearby city of Alamogordo to play a little disc golf before driving north to visit PistachioLand.  Part working farm and part tourist trap, PistachioLand boasts the Worlds' Largest Pistachio which is impossible to miss when driving along US Highway 54/70.  We browsed or sampled countless varieties of flavoured pistachio nuts in the general store which also has a wine-tasting bar.  We also enjoyed some ice cream which was imported, but the farm is working on securing a license to make their own.  Finally, we joined a half-hour long guided trolley bus tour of the farm which was both informative and fascinating.  Overall, I was not expecting to spend so much time here, but PistachioLand turned out to be a lot of fun.  I highly recommend a visit!
Not sure if it's edible, though! Zosia and Sonny stand in front of the "World's Largest Pistachio" at PistachioLand.
This benchmark is over a hundred years old is seems! Inside PistachioLand's general store, Sonny wonders what would go well with uncured bacon jam.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
Who knew that growing pistachio nuts could be so fascinating! Zosia and Sonny enjoy the guided tour of PistachioLand's farm.