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

Yucca Curl
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, New Mexico
2019

 Big Dave
Silver City, New Mexico
2019

This is “Big Dave,” as he called himself, and his wife whose name I did not get. I came across Big Dave as he was walking very slowly down the sidewalk alone. He was grunting and groaning a bit so as I passed him I commented “Hard going?” or something to that effect. He informed me that walking was painful because he had just finished the Bataan Death March, which stopped me in my tracks.

His comment turned out to be less strange than it sounded as he had in fact just finished competing in the Bataan Memorial Death March marathon held annually at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico to commemorate the infamous Bataan Death March in Word War II.

Dave did the 15-mile half-marathon totally on his crutches. His wife completed the full marathon in just about the same time as it took him to do his 15 miles. As proof of his participation he showed me his right hand which sported a blister of impressive size (see below). All I could say to that was “way to go Dave, you da man!”