April 2019

Comings and Goings
White Sands National Monument
New Mexico
2019

Travels on the Edge
White Sands National Monument
New Mexico
2019

Ripples
White Sands National Monument
New Mexico
2019

Desert Traveler
White Sands National Monument
New Mexico
2019

Wind Powered Compass
White Sands National Monument
New Mexico
2019

Yucca Waves
White Sands National Monument
New Mexico
2019

Grow Fast or Die
White Sands National Monument
New Mexico
2019

With shifting dunes, sand often starts to bury plants. The only way to stay alive is to grow fast enough to keep up with the sand. But the inverse can also happen, i.e., the sand around a plant may be disappearing, blown away by the wind. In that case a plant needs to be able to create an island of stabilized ground around roots. The plant can then end up surviving, albeit on a pedestal of sandy soil sometimes reaching 15 or 20 feet high.

Shifting Sands
White Sands National Monument
New Mexico
2019

Sand dunes are anything but static constructions. This shot was from the current northern edge of the dune field, but due to the wind, the entire time we were there they were visibly and actively extending the boundary.

Wrong Turn?
White Sands National Monument
New Mexico
2019

One of the reasons we went to New Mexico was to escape all the snow that has accumulated in Montana this year. From the looks of this photo, we made a wrong turn somewhere. Fortunately, looks can be deceiving.

Moonset Over Alamagordo
Dog Canyon, New Mexico
2019