David approached me with this crazy idea a few months back. I really didn't think he was serious, but it turns out, he was. I should know better by now. White Sands National Monument hosts a bike ride twice a year by the light of the moon. Obviously, it's a night ride - from 8-11pm, on the night of a full moon. The idea is that the moon is so bright in the dark desert sky that it reflects off of the PURE white sand for an unearthly glow that lights your way and provides for an out-of-this world experience. You have to be quick to enter. They only take 200 riders. David was worried we wouldn't get in, but we watched things closely on registration day and managed to get 4 spots for our family.
David's siblings have all visited NM a lot lately and our nephew Jeremiah thinks that White Sands is the coolest place on the planet. Keep in mind, this kid has lived all over the country, currently in San Diego, and has been to Hawaii, Alaska, and Sweden. Who knew NM had such an awesome spot to win out over those places?! Our kids had never been, so we decided this was a perfect way to do it, given the cycling gene in (apparently) everyone but me.
We knew we'd have to miss school to do it, so we carefully planned ahead with the teachers, did all the make up work, and made sure everything was set so that nothing would ruin our weekend. We did a practice 8 mile ride last weekend and determined that we could probably make the full 16 miles if the kids switched on and off to the tag-a-long bike for rests. I bought over $40 worth of glow sticks and extra lights to go on our bikes (safety rules insist that everyone has a head light and a blinking red tail light, plus you can decorate your bike to glow however you like.) We booked a Marriott room, put our swim suits in for the pool, and took off Friday morning for a whirlwind, 32 hour, vacation.
As we headed south, the sky got more and more cloudy, even rainy. We checked the weather forecast again. We hadn't looked at it in a couple of days (WHY?) and found out that things had changed quite a bit since last glance of "highs in the 80's, lows in the 60's with clear skies for the full moon." Instead we were looking at complete cloud cover, rain, and chilly temps. I had not packed for that. Not a single shred of rain gear was in the car. Luckily, I had thrown in 1 pair of long pants for everyone "just in case." How did I have 2 sacks of glow sticks and no rain jackets? Why would anyone who lives in NM even own a rain jacket? How are we supposed to do a full moon bike ride if you can't even see the moon?
We remained optimistic, checked into the hotel, and set out swimming. It was kind of fun - we were the only ones at the pool and hot tub, so the kids had a blast. We were careful not to let them swim too long so they wouldn't be too tired to ride, brought them back in, washed the chlorine out of their already green hair, and got dressed to head to dinner.
We were staying in Las Cruces, an hour from White Sands, because we wanted to take advantage of David's Marriott points. There is a very famous restaurant in Las Cruces called La Posta de Mesilla. It is incredibly quaint in this historic adobe homestead building. They had tons of birds and fish on display too. The kids and I had so much fun talking and playing with this one macaw. I seriously love living in the southwest where we can take advantage of the great food too.
(hmmm... bad cell phone pic)
When we decided to head onto white sands, I started feeling very doubtful. They do cancel for weather if it's bad enough, but calling ahead, they assured me the ride was still on. Still, as we drove, the rain was just pelting down with no sign of breaks in the clouds. Looking at the weather map, the clouds extended to California - no chance of clearing anytime soon. We decided we wouldn't try to do the whole ride in that kind of weather, but we'd do our best and give it a shot. We drove through a set of pretty wicked looking mountains. With the gloomy skies, I felt like we were driving into a horror movie.
As we pulled into the parking lot, there were a few crazy folks getting ready. I think in the end, there were maybe 3 families with kids there. We're guessing most people with kids bugged out. So, we were the only ones making efforts to cover the bikes in glow sticks. I ended up only using half of them since doing it in the rain kind of takes the fun out of it. Still, the girls both had glowing wheels and plenty of glowing objects around all the joints of their bikes when I was done and they never lost enthusiasm to go.
I think they kept shutting their eyes because the rain was dripping from our helmets straight into our eyes.
Check out the blue and purple rims.
They look cooler without the flash.
We started out the ride in a pretty heavy drizzle. Not a total downpour, but enough to drip down your neck and make you cold. Grace was a trooper and didn't make Harriet switch off with her except for a one mile stretch in the middle. Poor Harriet was a little cold - her bike seat had gotten wet on the drive and she was probably the least well dressed (gold star to mom.)
We rode for about 4 miles before Grace asked for a break and Harriet took over the single bike. That was the first time I felt like getting my camera out on the ride since the rain had finally lightened up.
But, the kids really didn't complain and we rode the 5 miles to where the pavement ends and were able to ride a bit further onto the pure gypsum road. The sand out there was absolutely incredible. It was unearthly, even without the moon shining. I can't imagine what it must look like on a clear night with a full moon. The kids are thrilled with a reason to have to go back now! We did get off our bikes and let the kids roam around on the dunes for a bit.
I had to take a picture of all the bikes against the dunes. I don't know why. It was just cool.
Grace begged to go farther. It was so tempting since we were just getting into the really thick dunes, but we knew we wouldn't make it back if we didn't turn around. So, we forced her to head back. She was pretty mad about it until she kind of hit her wall with about 2 miles left. At that point, Harriet was too cold and tired to switch with her, so she had to tough it out and get back on her own 2 legs (and wheels.) We totaled about 10.5 miles overall. Not too bad for a cold rainy dark night with kiddos. Truthfully, not too bad for me either - missing the cycling gene in my DNA and all. I am so proud of the girls though. They did awesome, and it really was a great thing to do as a family.
We were already planning on going back the next morning to sled on the dunes, but after seeing them like that in the dark, the kids practically couldn't wait for morning to come. Getting back to the hotel at midnight with wet bikes to unload and soaked, dirty, tired kids to bathe, morning came plenty soon enough.
Heading back out to the monument, in the near-CLEAR BLUE SKY, was a little annoying. I have to admit, I feel a little betrayed by my NM weather. Check out the mountains now!
It was so clear and bright and blue, and, HOT! I totally took a picture of the sun head-on. Traitor.
Seriously, where was that weather last night? I guess you can't have everything perfect all the time because that would be too boring, right?
We bought some sled wax, and headed out to the dunes, this time in the car. Harriet was worried it would take too long to get out there. She was glad the car gets there faster than a bike.
waxin' up
yes, mama went down too
Grace biffed it pretty bad on one of her first rides down. Her mouth was full of sand and she came home with a serious bruise on her back. Both girls actually came back with several bruises. The landings aren't so soft sometimes, even though the sand itself has the consistency of slushy snow. It is so soft. Even when completely dry it makes for perfect sand-castle building.
sent good ol' dad down a few times too
Needless to say, we were wiped out.
Thanks for the great family memories, White Sands. We'll be back, I'm sure.
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