White Sands

This is a wonderful place; it is just too bad that it is popular because you can easily see that it is taken for granted. While Brad and I went on a few short hikes along the dunes we picked up four littered water bottles and a yellow marble. The vastness and remoteness of the white sand dunes impress me. Once you leave your car and walk over the first dune that separates you from all the people in the parking area, with their music and whining, it feels like you are in a whole new place. After crossing over the first dune and looking back I felt completely engulfed and open and set free at the same time. The dunes were so blinding white that it hurt to look at them without sunglasses on. In fact it was hard to walk on them without the aid of sunglasses because it was hard to differentiate where one dune ended and another began. Our eyes did adjust a bit and it was easier, which is lucky because it would have been to bad if we would have fallen down the dunes all day =). We decided the best thing to do while we were they was to run around and play for a while. It was really fun to run down the sides of the dunes. You sank right in, so even if you ran fast at the right angle the sand would stop you. It felt similar to sinking into freshly fallen powder snow. Except not the least bit mushy or slippery and exchange bitter cold with blistering heat and it is just about right. While we were on the dunes I wanted really badly to not move on for the day and just stay the night here. I was trying to imagine the dunes at sunset and how the colors must just reflect off of the white sand as the heat does during the day. I bet it looks like two sunsets, similar to water, but with the contour of the dunes to add an element of complexity. They are really pretty during the day too, don’t get me wrong but who doesn’t love sunset? I would love to come back to experience this, but as it was we needed to drive at least 3-4 more hours so we needed to be on our way. And don’t worry, we remembered our lesson and had plenty of cold drinking water! There was more plant life than I had expected, not that this is a let down it was just different than I had imagined. But, is that not why we travel places anyway… To see them for ourselves, rather than form an idea based on what other people have said or written. Pictures and postcards although they are usually really pretty are always the best picture, and are often altered so they do not always give the best representation of things. They also usually do not due a lot of places justice, especially dealing with scale. Everything looks a little less magnificent in picture form. I am really happy that we are getting out there and doing some of the seeing and telling for ourselves! Brad made the connection that the dunes, especially where there was plant life, looked similar to North Carolina beaches. I can see where he made the connection and they really do, except the dunes are much whiter and brighter. And they are much larger dunes than most found at the coast. It was fun to jump around with the sand partly because it was interesting to be at a place so harsh and beautifully free at the same time. It is really dry here though so we would recommend having a lot of water handy if you ever visit here. At last we drove away and stopped at a nearby fresh fruits and vegetables stand to get avocados. We also got the juiciest peach I have ever had which made my day!

Disclaimer- In the picture with Brad and the water bottle - It is sand pouring out not water. He is trying to visualize for you all the lack of water - not the abundance of it!