The last time I had ridden a motorcycle through sand dunes was on a trail bike. This time, I was riding a heavy touring bike with my wife on the back and gliding among the dunes…
We were in White Sands National Park in the south-west US state of New Mexico on a smooth asphalt road that snaked its way through a white desert landscape. Nicknamed the “Land of Enchantment”, New Mexico had already enchanted us with its history, culture and mountains and now we were being enchanted by a desert. The state is roughly the size of Victoria and Tasmania combined with a population of only two million, and the roads have very little traffic, always a plus when touring on a motorcycle.
We had arrived via the Four Corners Monument where the states of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico meet. Heading east into New Mexico on US-64, we visited Chaco Canyon National Park. There we walked around the ruins of large stone buildings called the Great Houses that were inhabited by the Anasazi people from 850 AD to 1250 AD. We couldn't believe the size of these structures, some originally four stories high with more than 100 rooms and with walls a metre thick. Some walls had viewing slots for celestial observations, indicating that the ancient inhabitants had a good knowledge of astronomy. We were amazed by the history and enjoyed our day there.
Continuing east on US-64, we turned onto New Mexico Road 17 (NM-17) at Chama and rode up into the San Juan Mountains. This scenic, winding road took us over Cumbres Pass (3057m) and La Manga
