White Sands National Park

A Trip to White Sands National Park

On the Dunes, looking to the east.

Wind patterns in the sand dune

Wayne and Lisa


Seed pods and dormant grasses.

Miles of Dunes.

I've visited White Sands National Park three times over the last 10 years or so. The other two times were in the spring and fall when the weather was a bit warmer and I was lucky enough to be there on sunny days. This time it was cold, windy, and pretty gray. Bleak is a word that comes to mind. It was unfortunate as Lisa, one of Wayne's turtle research buddies, had never been there before. We did our best to see the sites but it was a bit hard as the stunning views were reduced, and the tremendous contrasts of foliage and flowers against the white sands was absent. I also think another reason was that we had all had a bit to drink on Saturday, at Wayne's party and we just were not into a lot of exercise.

I had hoped to run here, but it just didn't work out. Its a bit far from Las Cruses, and the winds and cold weather where just enough to keep me from insisting on spending a day moving over these dunes.