First-day road log, Alamogordo to Tularosa, Mockingbird Gap, Trinity Site, Oscuro, and Three Rivers
— Spencer G. Lucas, Virgil W. Lueth, Barry S. Kues, Robert G. Myers, and Katherine A. Giles

Today's trip examines the geology of the northern part of the White Sands Missile Range and the region just east of the northern range, in the northern Tularosa basin and along the western front of the Sierra Blanca. We thus begin by proceeding north to Tularosa then west into the Missile Range. Stop 1 is at the southern end of the Carrizozo lava flow to discuss the nature of very long lava flows and the techniques for dating young basalts. From there, we continue northwest to Mockingbird Gap. Here, at Stop 2 we examine an example of Rio Grande rift-type fluorite mineralization. We also discuss the truncation of the lower Paleozoic section in the Oscura Mountains. The trip then continues north into the Jornada del Muerto basin to the western flank of the Oscura Mountains. Here, at the Trinity site, we discuss uplift rates of the Oscura Mountains, mineralization in the Hansonburg Hills, and Lake Trinity.

After the stop, we retrace our route to Mockingbird Gap then continue due east back into the Tularosa basin. Stop 4 is at Bull Gap, just east of the Missile Range. Here, we examine Permian, Triassic and Cretaceous strata and discuss the Laramide Sierra Blanca basin and coal deposits. From there, we proceed south to today's final stop (and barbecue) at the mid-Cenozoic volcanics of the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site.