The Southwestern United States comprises multiple deserts, each with distinct plant life and geology. Between Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California we spent time in the Chihuahuan, Sonoran, and Mojave Deserts. We visited White Sands National Monument early in the morning after Carlsbad. The sand is gypsum blown off the surrounding mountains, and it is blindingly white. The dunes are very stable and easy to climb, and even at 8 in the morning kids were out with sleds – since the sand is so reflective it stays nice and cool. We spent the afternoon in Las Cruces, where we overindulged in really excellent New Mexican food and local beers at ¡Andele! and Bosque Brewing. 

The next day we hiked up to the ruins of a late-19th century hotel and TB sanitarium at Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument. The monument was just declared by President Obama in 2014, and we only found out about it because of a chance conversion with a New Mexico State grad we met in the grocery store parking lot back in Alpine (he also gave us the tip about Andele). Thanks, Charlie! The Dripping Springs hike was less than five miles, and the ruins were very cool. Unfortunately the waterfalls and swimming hole I had been dreaming about since hearing about them in Alpine were bone dry. We seriously underestimated the heat of June in the Southwest. 

We left the Chihuahuan Desert behind for the Sonoran and a few days in Tucson visiting Victor’s sister. It was far too hot to hike but we drove up Mount Lemmon one night and drove the scenic loops of both units of Saguaro NP. We finally got to eat Sonoran hot dogs, which we’d been hearing about for ages – they lived up to the hype. A Sonoran-style dog is wrapped in bacon, grilled, and topped with pinto beans, tomatoes, onions, and any number of delicious salsas. Best of all, it’s stuffed into a bolillo, a slightly sweet Mexican roll. 

On a whim, we visited Biosphere 2, which turned out to be very interesting despite looking like the set of LOST. The facility is now owned by the University of Arizona and consists of five “biomes” (rainforest, fog desert, mangrove swamp, savannah, and ocean), which are used for experiments on climate change and the environment. Originally, the facility was completely sealed and eight scientists lived in it, producing all of their own food and doing experiments on the various biomes, partially to test the feasibility of sealed environments in space. It apparently didn’t go very well. Our tour included a visit to the buildings “lungs”, huge rubber membranes that regulates the air pressure in the building. For me, that alone was worth the price of the tickets. 

Our last desert night was in the Mojave at Joshua Tree NP. We arrived in the early evening as the day cooled, signed the back country register, and hiked a mile into the desert with our bed rolls and a few liters of water. The stunning sunset gave way to a clear, cool night with plenty of stars. We slept like rocks in the shadow of a massive boulder, totally out in the open; there was a coyote chorus in the distance, but we only saw lizards and jack rabbits. We were up with the sun and made straight for the California coast.