This, my friends, is not your garden variety sand. It is gypsum sand. Miles and miles of gypsum sand – 275 square miles, to be precise. And gypsum sand is … glorious. I’m not new to sand dunes; we Kellers have been wowed by the Imperial Sand Dunes in SoCal a time or two. Dog Dude has been wowed, too. I quite like Sand Dunes (albeit, in not-hot weather). But after visiting White Sands, I’m quite aware that I LOVE gypsum sand. It has the neatest texture. It remains cool to the touch on even the hottest day. It’s easier to climb (the gypsum sand bunches together almost like that expensive moldable sand you can buy for crafts; it doesn’t slide away under you like regular sand). Because it’s easier to climb, one is encouraged to sled down the hills, again and again and again. Which we did. And when I say “we”, I mean Julie’s girls.
The neato picnic area where we had our yummy pizza leftovers…
After lunch, we drove further on and parked in the equestrian lot …
Sand as far as the eye can see…
Wipeout!
(ps. all images wherein I’m pictured, but my arms aren’t extended in front of me, are credited to: Julie Rivera)
(pps. to add a little “zip” to our slides, we waxed the bottom of these plastic disks)
If you’ve ever wondered why photographer are so sore the day after a photoshoot, this is why: the photographer low-squat + chimp, expertly demonstrated by Julie …
Oh hey, there’s that squat maneuver again … (and above, I’m grabbing my 1-second-everyday video footage)
It probably goes without saying, but we all had a really great time at White Sands.
(ppps. I highly recommend visiting White Sands on a cloudy day like this one. I think I would have found a sunny day here to be blindingly bright and eye-squinty.)
2 comments:
Probably the best photos I have seen in a long time. Love the sand...love that it stays cool. Love that you are in the pictures.
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