White Sands National Park

Hoping to see the sunrise over white sands, I arrived that the park early only to find the gates had not opened yet. With not promising weather the day before with a sandstorm advisory, I was worried about what I would get the chance to see. The second the gates opened, I immediately entered and made my way towards the back of the drive where I was surrounded with nothing but hill after hills of white sand.

Not wasting a second, I got out of the car, picked a hill, and started to climb. Reaching the top of the first ridge, I was greeted with a picturesque mountain range framed by the white sand dunes and small dust devils sweeping across the landscape. Littered across the dunes were some desert plants surviving in this barren environment. It was extraordinarily peaceful climbing up and down, listening to the wind, and wandering aimlessly among the dunes. There were a few moments where the sun would peak out from behind the clouds and light up the gypsum sand in a sea of glitter. Among the islands of plant life, little animal tracks were visible. With no real direction I was going, I had decided to walk in the footsteps of one of the local inhabitants and see where they led me. I was not disappointed; it was a thrilling chase and got some great pictures along the way.

As the wind started to pick up, I made my way to the visitor center just as the sandstorm had officially started to pick up. I was very fortunate to have seen what I could before the sandstorm had fully encompassed the view. I still want to see the sunrise and set over the sea of gypsum one day and this park definitely deserves another visit. Maybe on the next trip I will even set my camera down for a little bit and try my hand at sledding down the dunes.