I wrote earlier about my frustration at not being able to enter White Sands until an hour after sunrise, making capturing the great dawn light impossible. The evening hours work better: it’s open until 8:30, and sunset was was about 8:00. Bingo!

I joined a Ranger walk to watch the sunset (and learn more about White Sands). Here are some shots taken in the softer light.

Receding dunes, May 2019

(Almost full) Moon rises above a falling yucca, May 2019

Yuccas have evolved a unique survival strategy. The dunes they grow on are constantly moving and burying them. So they send tall shoots out which will grow as the lower portion gets smothered. If the dune moves on and exposes the buried plant, the trunk can’t support the weight and falls over.

Glowing yucca, May 2019

We leave Alamogordo this morning and head up to Santa Fe. It’s been really hot here – it was 95F Thursday afternoon – but promises to be a much more comfortable mid-60s in Santa Fe.