Trip Through White Sands Nat Monument

[Drew Wiley]

Garrett - I thought camels were the standard means of travel through the dunes, not mules! Great to have you chiming in again.

[xkaes]

They are and they were. The US military brought camels to the American SW as a means of transport -- before the railroads -- and some of them might have ended up in White Sands:

"Hi Jolly's work in the US Camel Corps earned him a reputation as a living legend until his death in Arizona."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hi_Jolly

[Drew Wiley]

Escaped Army camels survived in So Cal deserts for awhile. They did a lot better in the hot Pliocene; there are fossilized camel prints in Death Valley, along with a lot of other big critters. But we're headed back to the Pliocene pretty fast, the way things are heating up, and camels might become the new SUV's. Wild burros have done a lot better. I was nearly trampled by a herd of those once, sleeping in Saline Valley.

[BoatMan902]

The Camel Corps was doing fairly well until the Civil War broke out. I guess it was being pushed along by a fellow called Jeff Davis, he fell out of favor for some reason...

[Drew Wiley]

Joe Camel certainly did well after five wars. Wonder what oasis he had been hiding at the whole time.