Thursday, June 14, 2012

White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

I was going through some old photo albums and ran across our family vacation prints from 1998 (give or take a year). It was probably one of our most enjoyable trips... the kid were at perfect ages, and White Sands is incredible.  It's actually not sand (typically sand dunes are made of quartz or silica sand) but it's gypsum.  Gypsum dunes are much rarer than traditional sand dunes, and White Sands is the largest gypsum dunes in the entire world at 275 square miles!  Gypsum feels a lot different from sand, too... a lot softer and smoother.
My daughter and son ready for blast-off!
My wife brought along some blue plastic sheets (used for sliding in the snow) and the kids went crazy sliding down the gypsum hills!  Fun times!!
I laugh every time I see this one... my son flying down the hill, my daughter crashing in the background!
I love the colors in the skies over the white powder hills.
The end of the day and my wife is still smiling!  But the kids look totally exhausted!!
Linking to Skywatch Friday.
Click on the link to check out great skies from all over the world.  Have a great weekend!!

28 comments:

  1. Such a spectacular landscape to play in along with the memories.

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  2. Beautiful place and love the white colour:)Looks like they really had a great time. Have a great weekend!

    Shantana

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  3. amazing landscape...the last picture with the setting sun in it was stunning!

    -r1-

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  4. What beautiful landscape! Amazing shots.

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  5. Very interesting post and I love the pictures!

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  6. Very nice photo set. The final portrait with the sunset is really well done.
    Thanks for stopping by Driller's Place. Come back anytime. Happy Skywatching.

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  7. Hi there - great set of pictures.

    We went sand surfing on a trip to Kangaroo island a few months ago - same sorts of crashes and same impact on the kids! Splendid fun!

    Stewart M

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  8. Love the sunset shot,the white sand looks like snow.

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  9. Terrific captures and gorgeous skies!! Reminds me of trip I made to the White Sands! Fun memories! Your last shot is really awesome! Wonderful way to end a beautiful day! Have a great weekend!

    Sylvia

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  10. That is a wonderful place and I too like the sunset photo. When I was there I had to be careful as to where I stepped for people let their dogs poop just anywhere. Hope you didn't have that problem in '98.

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  11. Looks like the kids had a lot of fun sleding on the sand dunes! The sky in the last phhoto is fantastic! Thanks for stopping by my blog.

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  12. these are wonderful! thanks for the look back into bliss. :)

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  13. Wow! The things you can learn about while blogging!!! I never knew about Gypsum dunes...how fun!!!

    The sky and clouds in your shots are wonderful Spare Parts!!

    Thanks for visiting at mammothlakesdp!!!

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  14. Fun time!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  15. these are great pictures...this is how I think of the kids...
    in my mind's eye they will forever be held at this age..

    because, you know...I was younger than too and that's how my mind's eye sees me..until I look in the mirror.

    you took great pictures back then too...film?

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  16. Beautiful pictures! That sliding looks fun!

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  17. Oh this is such a fun set to look at, especially the second one! Have a great weekend!

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  18. Wow, this is an amazing kind of sand, which looks more like snow in whiteness. Indeed, this looks like a wonderful vacation with photo memeories beautifully preserved.

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  19. Gorgeous pictures...looks like snow!

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  20. Thanks for sharing these wonderful pictures from your vacation years ago. The sky (and gypsum) are beautiful.

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  21. I could kick myself. Born and spent most of my time growing up in New Mexico and not one trip to the Sand Dunes. I love your pics.

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  22. Wonderful photos, love the colours and the fun times captured. You must have thoroughly enjoyed reliving the memories.

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  23. Wonderful photos!Stunning landscapes!

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  24. Those white dunes look amazing, and I love that sky too!

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