White Sands National Park

Life will find a way.

White Sands National Park was - by far - the most sheer joy I have experienced in an NPS unit thus far. Maybe it was the prospect of sledding. Maybe it was that Piper absolutely loves to run around in sand and dogs are allowed with you almost everywhere in the park. Or maybe it was the utter freedom and unreal-ness of being in a place that is so wide open and aptly named. Whatever the magic, I will forever associate White Sands with joy and "I can't believe this is real". It was a truly great day.

It was the first time on the trip I needed a winter coat and, well, the KOA lent us a sled and some wax soap so there was no excuse not to try. Here is how it went:

Photostream post to give you the other highlights:

Science alert: one of the major sedimentary features that I teach is wave lines in the rock. While often an indicator of water, here, it was just the sun and wind that made the gypsum shimmer in formation.

This rock, just chilling here, is a physical post in the landscape of otherwise swirling sand.

There are a number of conservation signs posted to remind people how to behave on public lands. I turned around at one point and realized that we truly had left only footprints.

Piper and I had an absolute blast running around on the dunes. It was exhausting to be in so much soft sand as I was still getting used to having my gear and Piper's on my back while negotiating wind and encounters with other pups. We took a quick pause to celebrate our freedom to just be.

For more adventures with minerals and/or in the sand, keep coming back!