White Sands, Continued

In this post, I chatted about White Sands and how beautiful it is at sunset.  And that's true.  But it is equally beautiful during the middle of the day.  It's hard to capture in pictures the size of the dunes made by the gypsum.  This one shown below was grand.  

Even more amazing was the plants.  Quick growing plants live in this area, stretching to survive over an incoming dune. In the middle of this particular photo, you can see the two plants in the middle of the frame are half covered with the sand.

As the wind moves the sand, it makes cool patterns in the sand.  I thought this one was cool.

But as the dune moves on its way, the plant has generated a vast root system which keeps the gypsum from moving with the rest of the dune.  The sand is tangled in with the roots and prevented from moving with the breeze.  That leaves these large towers throughout the park, waiting for the nest dune to pass by.

Run Free

There is something about a horse that I absolutely love.  They are large animals and can be intimidating, but I find them to be some of the most gentle creatures on earth.  

This is a photo of Easter Island.  Usually, when people show photos of the island they show the pristine blue water or the awe inspiring maoi status.  And if anyone has looked through this blog, I'd be guilty as well.  But the land is also so inspiring.  There are few trees on the island due to over-cultivation in the past.  But the grasses, the wildflowers cover the land beautifully.

Which makes for a good environment for the wild horses.  Yes, there are wild horses roaming all over the 63 square mile island.  Which explains the rock walls and turnstiles to protect the more significant sites on the island.  (Although, horses can jump and I did see them entrapped inside of the very area the walls were built to protect.)

One night I was walking home from a late night dinner.  The town on this island is small and there are few lights on the streets.  Footsteps could be heard, but the darkness prevented seeing the maker of the noise.  Suddenly I was surrounded by 5 - 10 wild horses as they overtook my pace and wandered down toward the beachfront.

That's when it was confirmed that I was someplace unique.  I can honestly say I had never previously been surrounded by wild horses in the middle of the busiest street in town.