White Sands

I spent the late afternoon and evening at White Sands National Monument, with a party mostly made up of the students attending the summer school where I'm instructing this week. We picnicked in a rather stark area that was uncomfortably hot when we first arrived, but the student managed to have fun anyway, sledding down the encircling dunes.

Later we went on a guided 'Sunset Stroll' among the dunes, where the guide provided interesting commentary on the natural history and geology of the dunes. I've been there a couple of times before, but never seen much more than the yucca plants that poke up through the sand here and there. According to our guide, those survive by growing to keep their heads above the encroaching dunes. We were also introduced to the tiny pink-flowered centaury, sand verbena, rosemary mint that binds pedestals of the gypsum sands with its roots, and for a grand finale a skunkbush sumac on a ten-foot tall pedestal that's a miniature island habitat in itself. I spotted some tiny animal tracks across the sand. Round about then, the sun set, not in spectacular fashion but quite prettily.

By the time we got back to the picnic area, the stars were starting to show, and the air was pleasantly cool.

( Sample photos -- more on Flickr )