Pixiq

Earlier this month, I stopped at the White Sands National Monument in southeastern New Mexico by Alamogordo. White Sands is part national monument and part missile testing area. You do have to check to be sure the area is not closed due to testing (which does occur regularly). When you arrive at White Sands National Monument, you know immediately you are there. It is unlike anything around there. The white sand dunes suddenly appear in a desert scrub ecosystem.

This place is very strange and very beautiful. The sands are made of gypsum, which is why they are so white. That is also why you run into hard places of the sand as you walk -- rain or standing water can harden the sand into something like plaster of paris.

When I was there, it was definitely still winter. The temperature was in the 30s at sunrise, though it warmed to the mid-70s by afternoon. It then started cooling off very quickly at sunset. That is typical desert weather. There is nothing in the air to help hold the temperature. It all rises into clear skies.

I enjoyed walking in the big dunes in the middle of the park. The experience of high white hills all around you is hard to describe. I can also see why you have to be careful of the weather. If the sun were not out, it would be very easy to get turned around. All dunes look really good when the light is low. Plus the white sands reflect the color of early and late sky. Yet at this time of the year, the sun is low enough to make photography here viable at nearly any time of day. Summer would be tough in midday, both from the flat light and the oppressive temperatures. 

I also enjoyed spending some time in the "front dunes", the dunes you first see as you go into the park. This is the leading edge of the white sands and these dunes do not move so much. Because of that, plants can start to grow on them and stabilize the dunes even further. Conditions are challenging for both plants and animals, both from the temperatures (it gets very hot here in the summer), the lack of moisture and the problem of an unstable ground.

Yet plants and animals are remarkable in the way they adapt to even the toughest conditions. The tracks in this photo are from a beetle. I would love to visit this area later in the spring when the yuccas are blooming. These plants put down deep roots to help them stay alive even as the sand moves (though few plants can handle the constant movement of the sands in the central part of the area).

These photos were mostly shot with a 100-400mm lens, mostly toward the 400mm end. The close shot of the beetle tracks was taken with a 11-22mm lens. I love getting close with a wide-angle and shooting from a distance with a telephoto. If you are ever in this area, check out the Can't Stop Smokin BBQ restaurant in Alamogordo on 10th Street. This is a great place with an amazing assortment of barbecued meats. The folks there are enthusiastic about the food they are serving and it is good!