Silent Sunday: White Sands National Park

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Headed to White Sands National Park, a four-hour drive from Santa Fe. 

 

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White Sands is our newest National Park in the US. It became one in December of 2019.
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Driving on Dunes Drive after entering the park.
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More and more of the dunes become visible.

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Nature Trail in the park

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Lake that is dried up now. Fills in the wetter months. Underlying the dunes is water.
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The Gypsum Dunes come into view.
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Entering another world.
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The White Sand dunes look devoid of life but there is a whole ecosystem that resides here.
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A sample of scale – a man over 6 feet tall in the distance.
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A beautiful day make the dunes glisten.
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Yucca is a prevalent species in the park.
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The winds move the dunes each year – some inches and some feet! 
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Yuccas can grow rapidly to avoid being buried by the shifting dunes.
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Another sample of scale.
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Most of the dunes are firm, not unlike a beach where the water meets the shore.
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One of my favorite shots from our visit to White Sands with the mountains in the background.
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Endless.
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A sample of erosion.
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Driving on the compacted gypsum was cool!

 

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A beautiful day in White Sands National Park.

All images copyright by Carol Labuzzetta, 2020. All rights reserved. Do Not Duplicate.

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