The quietness of White Sands NM is impossible to describe. It was a silence I wish I could experience more often! Amazing!
There are some persistent plants that grow in these gypsum sand dunes! Some plants like the soap tree yucca have adapted to grow faster in order to "beat" the sand dune. Some plants like the cottonwood tree barely keep leaves peaking above the dunes, but they are still very much alive. Plants like this shrub above have formed a tight grip onto the sand with their root systems. As the sand dune moves, it leaves the plant sitting on it's own pedestal!
I was excited to see some Little Bluestem growing in the gypsum!
Wind+ gypsum sand= pretty cool sand art!
At the visitor center you can buy/rent sleds to take a ride down the dunes! You "buy" the sled, but if you return it, they'll give you $5 back. I think I would like winter a lot better if it snowed sand and was 80 degrees out!
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!
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