Las Cruces for the Holidays

I am now about 15 miles north of Las Cruces, and will be here for the holidays.  From my campsite, I can see the very remarkable, very jagged peaks that rise about 10 miles to the east of Las Cruces.  Friday evening, the sun lit them nicely for me.

Yesterday I took a long drive, dropping briefly into Texas, then up to Alamogordo for a late lunch.  I then went to White Sands, seeking some shots near to sunset.  I was disappointed because I could not find much to use the light that I had and capture the vast whiteness of the dunes.  I did have a nice blue sky at first, which I liked in contrast to my shots from a month ago.

I saw the sun lighting a clump of grass.  That light was closer to what I was hoping to find.

Moments later, the sun was setting.  The color was obscured by the dunes and far peaks, and was bland at first, a pastel yellow with some pink.  The sky was not yet rich, it became so later.  This is what I saw as I was leaving and had a better view to the west.  (OK, I admit it - I couldn't resist slipping in another sunset.)

Everyone that I saw during the early part of the sunset was looking to the west.  Me?  I was looking east at what the light was doing to the mountains near Alamogordo.