The 13th? An unlucky day? Yes, in a sense you can say that. After checking out in Santa Fe we want to drive to the Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks. In Chochiti Pueblo we are held up by road works. The man with the stop sign, a real Chochiti, asks where to go. Tent Rocks? No, that would not do. During the storms of the last few weeks, the new road has been washed out and everything is closed. Too bad, but nothing can be done. We are guided through the construction site by a pickup truck with “Follow Me” written on the back. There are two pickups and two stop sign men. This is another way to waste energy and create jobs. A simple traffic light would also do.

So, off to Alamogordo. The way there goes from Albuquerque through the dry and lonely areas of New Mexico.

We try a short detour to the Trinity Site, but the guard says that access is only possible on the 1st Saturday in April and October (but then with a chip shop and everything). He shows us the site 14 miles away where the world’s first atomic bomb was detonated. “Nothing grows there anymore,” he says.

The gray-brown spot in the center of the picture is the site of the horror.

Short stop at the Valley of Fires. Stretch your legs and smoke a cigarette – how appropriate….

From the Valley of Fires you can also see Sierra Blanca nicely. It is the highest mountain in the area with a height of 12000 ft. We will climb it tomorrow (but by car).

The last part to Alamogordo is tiring. Nothing going on except a 10 mile long construction site with reduced speed.

In Alamogordo the Quality Inn formerly Holiday Inn Express is reserved. What a dump. So far all rooms booked have been good to top notch. This one has all the best times ever almost behind it. I had worse only briefly in Egypt and in England. The front desk said that it still has valid AAA recommendation until December 31, 2010. Well, hopefully it will not be extended. I spare myself and all other readers photos. Well, there must be one outlier…

Nevertheless to the sunset to White Sands. Known, but always very nice.

White Sands