When I crossed the state line from Texas into New Mexico, that marked the 30th state in the USA that I have visited. Only 20 left to go, and I’d add two more in the coming days! My destination in “The Land of Enchantment” was the White Sands National Monument. It’s a beautiful place if simplicity is your thing. Bright white sand dunes, with the backdrop of the San Andres Mountains to the west, and the Lincoln National Forest to the east. The monument sits just to the west of Holloman Air Force Base, and south of a missile testing range, which results in closures of the park.

I lucked out, because the previous three nights the park was closed to back country camping. I had planned on camping in the dunes, as that is the only way to shoot the sunrise in the park. The gates did not open until 8:00 am, and sunrise was about 30 minutes prior to that.

I hit a snag when I arrived and the back country camping permits were sold out! They only have 10 campsites available, so if you plan on camping in the park, my best advice is to get there early! It is first come, first serve. They do not take reservations.

Be sure to bring your sunscreen, as the sun is bright and in abundance out here! The high that day was only in the low 70’s, but it sure did feel much warmer than that. I suggest not walking very far barefoot. While the sand is pretty soft in some spots, these dunes don’t get a ton of foot traffic, and as a result the sand has settled pretty well, and is relatively hard-packed. Walking a good distance barefoot is a good way to pick up a few blisters!

Even without a lot of subjects, with some creativity, the picture opportunities are endless.  I knew I wanted to get a few shots of myself with nothing but the sand and the sky. My main subject for the evening, however, was the Yucca plant. There are quite a few of them out here.

There are actually 40-50 different species of Yucca, so don’t ask me exactly which one these are! I noticed that most of them grow in the valleys of the dunes, making it difficult for me to find the shot I really wanted with a Yucca in the foreground, and the San Andres Mountains in the background.

I spent at least a couple hours trying to find the perfect subject, parking in several spots and walking a great distance. Since I did not have my back country camping permit, I needed to be out of the park by 8:00 pm, so I didn’t want to be too far away from my car. I finally did find my subject with a couple hours to spare until sunset.

If taking photos is not your thing, or you have kids that you want to keep entertained while here, a popular activity is sledding on the sand dunes! They sell sleds at the visitor’s center. That, to me, sounds much better than sledding in the cold, wet snow!

As the last bit of sunlight gently kissed the white sand, turning it orange and pink, I was finally able to capture my shot!

This shot had everything I wanted: a Yucca in the foreground, the ripples in the sand illuminated by the last bit of sunlight, and the mountains in the background. Perfect!

After the sun goes down is one of my favorite times, as the sky gets a band of pink/orange to the east. At this point I was literally running from one Yucca plant to the next and snapping photos, as I was running out of time before I needed to get out of there!

It was unfortunate that I missed getting a sunrise shot in the park the next morning, as the sunrise was truly brilliant! I had spent the night in Las Cruces, almost an hour to the west, and as I was leaving, I noticed the high clouds in the sky. I had to stop and get a shot of the sunrise over the town, with the backdrop of those same San Andres Mountains, this time off to the east.

The sky definitely cooperated with me on this morning! It was a wonderful start to the day, and while I was wishing I would have been in the dunes for this moment, having those mountains as my foreground was not a bad consolation.

I hope you enjoy these photos! I’m thinking that at least one of them will be printed and hanging on a wall somewhere in the near future!