White Sands Sunset

Posted on by Crystal M. Trulove
Nothing says “Road trip in America” like this kind of stuff. It cracks me up.

We were unpacking in our Tularosa AirBnb when I received a text message from a friend. “Are you in Ruidoso?” That’s the name of the town closest to where our mutual friend was getting married the next day. But it turns out our friends were heading our way, looking for the pistachio tourist attraction that I highlighted in a recent post. (I still think a pistachio tourist attraction is hilarious) We decided to meet for dinner, then go as a group to White Sands National Park to watch the sunset.

Chris in their rented car.

A mile or so in, the sands had drifted across the paved road, requiring it to be plowed. So, with the white, packed road surface, and piles plowed against the side of the road, my brain kept telling me it was snow. But it was 80 degrees out (27 C).

It looks for all the world like snow, doesn’t it?

We were in a bit of a hurry to get miles into the park where there was a good place to watch the sun set. Chris and Erin had been there the night before, and they led us in, directly to where we wanted to go. They had seen an amazing sunset and wanted to show us what it was like. We passed too quickly the astonishingly white landscape. It’s not exactly sand. The park website describes it this way, “wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert, creating the world’s largest gypsum dunefield.”

Erin is saying, “Look at that!” while Chris helps her climb the dune. I did not help Pedro, so he was left to put a hand down to steady himself as we climbed.

Erin insisted that the sand is cool and feels good on your feet, and eventually talked us all into taking shoes off. She was right. It was not hot on your feet.

We found a great spot on top of a hill and looked over at the sun, late in the sky.
As it grew darker, vehicle lights began showing across the white sand.
It was windy enough to support a kite. If I go back, I want to bring a kite.
A lone kite soars above the dunes.
I was sorry not to have come earlier, so that I could play more with photographs of the sand.
The sand was magical in the low light and stark shadows.
Pedro decides to try the sand on his feet, then gets distracted with a photo op.
A sand angel!!
Sand angel and setting sun.

We spent a lot of time in awe of the group of young people in front of us. They were far away, so their ebullience didn’t bother us. They laughed and shrieked and cheered and ran around in circles and up and down the dunes. Most remarkably of all, they did acrobatics. We decided they were a college cheerleading squad.

My camera’s zoom brought them closer to us.
They never stopped this. People balancing and flipping to the ground continued to occur until dark.
It was amazing to see in an amazing environment. I hope the kids got lots of great videos for their social media.
See, it’s not snow, or I would be frozen!
Opposite the sun, the moon was rising through cotton candy clouds.

Looking the other direction, the clouds and moon fascinated me for some time.

The moon was tantalizing
Puffs of clouds passed in front, changing the scene around the moon.
On second thought, not being here in the daytime makes everything so interesting.
Clouds make a sunset more interesting
The lower the sun, the pinker the clouds
So pink you could eat them!
It grew very dark, and the pinks, yellows, and oranges faded to azure, and we began counting the stars.
The moon accepted her reign and shone her cool light on the arctic-looking scene.

And we happily walked, two couples hand-in-hand, back out of the sand dunes. We hugged our goodbyes and went opposite directions for the night.

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Published by Crystal M. Trulove

storyteller, thinker, worker, lover, student, mother, dreamer, achiever