Visiting the White Sands National Monument

Visiting the White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.

While moving to a new camp, I happened to drive right by this place and couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a quick look.

These dunes are made mostly of gypsum, a water soluble mineral which flowed down from the the mountains which surround this basin. There is no outlet to the ocean from this area, so the water evaporates and sinks into the ground leaving the gypsum behind.