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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;DocWatson, post: 3774478, member: 37983&quot;]At the termination of Highway 54 where I began to catch Highway 70 in Alamogordo I started to run into the area of the White Sands National Monument.&nbsp; Very cool.&nbsp; Like a sandy beach in the middle of the desert.</p><p><br /></p><p>It was odd to see.&nbsp; Just another one of those places that makes this country outstanding.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>The dunes cover about 275 miles and are made up of gypsum.&nbsp; Unlike beach sand which is quartz based and can be unbearable to walk on in the summer with bare feet, this sand stays cool to the touch regardless of how hot it gets.&nbsp; That&#039;s a little bit of Cliff Claven info, free of charge found here <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Sands_National_Monument" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Sands_National_Monument" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Sands_National_Monument</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>I wish I could have driven my truck down the Dunes Road into the interior of the monument, took my boots and socks off and felt that sand run between my toes.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>It shares the same area with the White Sands Missile Range.&nbsp; I couldn&#039;t see anything really other than some low cattle, barbed wire fencing with signs warning not to trespass.&nbsp; Some info. here ....&nbsp; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Sands_National_Monument" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Sands_National_Monument" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Sands_National_Monument</a></p><p><br /></p><p>At one point along this trip my fuel got low.&nbsp; Real low.&nbsp; Lower than I have ever driven the truck.&nbsp; I&#039;ve been down to where my fuel light comes on just below 1/8 tank and then fueled sometime later before I hit the &quot;E&quot; mark. This time, due to a fueling location not taking Comdata, I pushed on almost to my detriment.&nbsp; My fuel was down to the &quot;E&quot; mark this time as I crossed over San Augustin Pass, 5719 ft. elevation, just east of Las Cruces.&nbsp; As I chugged up the mountain I was talking quietly to my Prostar &quot;please just get me over the pass and down to the Love&#039;s and I won&#039;t ever run you this low on food again. I promise. Please...&quot;&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Somehow, I&#039;m not sure how, I made it to my fuel stop.&nbsp; I was opened up for 99 gallons and that was good enough.&nbsp; That put me a little below the 1/2 way mark on my fuel guage and I was happy. Crisis diverted.&nbsp; My mistake though and it wont happen again.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Somewhere near the Arizona border or somewhere after I crossed it I hit one of those immigration checkpoints.&nbsp; </p><p>&quot;Are you a U.S. citizen?&quot;</p><p>&quot;Yup&quot;</p><p>&quot;Anyone inside your trailer?&quot;</p><p>&quot;What?&quot;</p><p>&quot;Are there any people inside your trailer?&quot;</p><p>&quot;Um, no, not today&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m trying to figure out all the cameras and other electronic wizardry you pass in front of before you actual speak to a human.&nbsp; I would swear one of them took my picture as I thought I had seen a flash as I crossed in front of them.&nbsp; Some of it looks like videocameras and some of it I think might be some type of x-ray machine to scan the inside of the trailers.&nbsp; Some of it may be brain scanning and mind reading equipment or possibly a remotely-activated laser ray gun to destroy those opposed to the current health plan format.&nbsp; Ok, maybe not.&nbsp; Where&#039;s my tinfoil hat?&nbsp;&nbsp; It looks like quite the setup.&nbsp; I managed to take a quick cellphone pic, surreptitiously as my cell is mounted to my dash and taking a pic off to the front and right only requires me to push a button.&nbsp; I haven&#039;t seen any black helicopters following me since I took that pic but I&#039;m still looking.&nbsp; I am curious what all this equipment out on the side of the road is tho. </p><p><br /></p><p>I made it that day, yesterday, all the way to the Walmart in Benson, AZ just east of Tucson.&nbsp; I wouldn&#039;t suggest parking here though as it took some sweet talk and compliments to one of the Walmart managers and then some face to face confirmation once I got there to be allowed to park.&nbsp; It was a quiet night and I started my pretrip just after 0300.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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