On this hike at White Sands I went northeast from the picnic area. It was 106 degrees (41.1 C) when I started. There is more vegetation in this area than in other directions.

I took 1.5 gallons of water and had another canteen in the truck.

This hike was a good test for the feasibility of reaching Lost River. That should be no trouble when it is not so hot.

There were some expanses of sand dunes but most flats had a lot of plants in them. The dunes were mostly not very tall and some plants grew on them. I didn’t see any human tracks after half a mile or so.

There were many pedestals. This one is 7 or 8 feet tall.

These ridges form at the base of dunes on the edges of flats. They are up to 7 or 8 inches high.

I found this formation at the base of a dune. It is 8 inches to 1 foot in diameter. Gypsum is somewhat water soluble and when wet it partly dissolves and forms crusts on hardening again. That makes walking on top of these dunes easier than on other sand. I think this crust ball was formed by something providing either water or a shape for the ball. Maybe an animal or insect den or plant.

Dark material, probably from the plants, collected in some places. Here it has accented the waves on this dune.

About 2 miles in I saw this tree or group of trees growing from a dune. Probably the tree got started in a flat and the dune drifted over it.

This tree provided good shade so I rested here. This place was timeless, calm, silent. I enjoyed that.

The tree is 8 to 10 feet tall. There were many insects. From here I started back. Clouds were forming to the east and there was a breeze. The temperature went down to 100 F (37.8 C). I could see a white whirlwind in the distance.

This pedestal is about 6 or 7 feet tall. The wind blows the sand out around the base of many pedestals.

These pink flowers covered some flats. I saw blue tailed lizards several times in different flats but they ran before I could get photos.