Cadiz Dunes

 Mitch and I have explored the lonely, desolate railroad outposts of Archer and Chubbuck so far on this trip, but our ultimate destination is someplace called Cadiz Dunes. We are hoping to get some late afternoon "golden hour" photos of the dunes, set up camp for an overnight stay, and perhaps some sunrise shots the next morning. As it turns out, the road into Cadiz Dunes is challenging. The last 1/4 mile is soft, deep sand. Mitch is driving his AWD Subaru, and we are both well aware that if we get stuck, it could be days before anyone else comes along, and there's no cell service in this area. A real nailbiter!

Mitch uses his driving skills to keep his speed up through the soft sand. It feels like we are driving a boat through water! If he were to stop or even slow down too much, we would quickly get stuck. The photo above is the Cadiz Dunes parking area (just before sunrise the next morning). Luckily, the sand firms up a little here and it is save to stop the car without getting stuck. Not sure what we would have done if the sand were deep and soft, like the road leading in.

 

This photo was taken a few seconds after the first photo, and facing the opposite direction (looking east down the sandy road we had come in on). If anyone reading this is thinking about visiting Cadiz Dunes, don't do it without an AWD Subaru (which has decent ground clearance) or better. Preferably better. My Honda CRV AWD, which is lower to the ground, very probably would have gotten stuck. Best to only come here if you have high ground clearance and 4WD, and ideally with two or more vehicles, since you will have no cell service.
 
But here's the payoff if you can make it to Cadiz Dunes:

Dunes, as far as the eye can see, and you will likely be all alone. Not another human being for miles! No footprints anywhere. Places like this are getting harder and harder to find. But as we started wandering across the dunes and taking pictures, I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. The wind was blowing hard which I figured might ruin our changes of getting good photos.

Wind is blowing sand over the tops of the dunes, and all over Mitch and I and our camera gear! But as I thought about it more, it occurred to me the wind might be working in our favor. It makes for much more dynamic and interesting photos. The sand movement on the dunes is fascinating to watch!

 

I love how the dunes look in B&W!

 

 

 

I come up with the name "sand ghosts"... It's like the sand is alive!

  

Slow going in the soft sand and wind!

 

Keeping my fingers crossed that I'm not sandblasting my camera!!

 

We will be camping here overnight, so I'll share some more dune photos on my next post. Thanks for stopping by!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.