I still need another lens for my Canon so have used it little, but decided to give it a trial run using a borrowed lens. To do this, son Chris and I went out to catch a sunset on April 27th. at the 275 square mile White Sands National Monument about 15 miles from town. Here is the largest gypsum dune field in the world. We arrived a bit after 5:00 p.m. This first shot was taken near the outer dunes so you see more vegetation than in the heart of the dunes. In fact, we are near the tallest dune (not pictured) at something like 60 feet. 
Now, we have moved to an area called the Interdunes to await the sunset. It was good to see that there were others scattered near and far doing the same.
These folks were having a great time with their kites. 
Looking east toward the Sacramento Mountains. Looks like it might be raining up there. If you look closely, you can see the white telescope of the Sunspot Observatory and to the right of it are two at Apache Point Observatory. 
I never cease to marvel at how so many plants like these Soaptree Yucca (New Mexico’s state flower) can survive in this hostile environment. They do this by fast stem growth of as much as a foot a year to keep from being buried by the shifting sands. I’m sure there are many that lose the battle. Can you imagine just how far it is down to their roots? 
We were intrigued at just how many tracks there were. Many we didn’t know what had made them, but these we knew. The ones going up the dune were made by one of the creatures that has evolved to white colorization to blend in with their surroundings — The Bleached Earless Lizard. You can make out where it’s tail hit the sand. The fainter tracks going out from the plant were made by a Darkling Beetle. We were puzzled by the somewhat squiggly line going out to the right and wondered if it could be a root or some such?? We didn’t want to disturb it to find out though. 
When the sand hardens around the roots of a plant, they form pedestals. The ones seen here are puny compared to others seen in this part of the dune field.
Yikes! Get a load of this yucca! It looked very dead, but as the next photo of the other side reveals, it was far from it. Talk about survival….. 
It had only been a few days since it had been windy, but look at the multitude of tracks made in such a short time.
This came out blue, but kind of like the effect anyway.
Oh, oh! I was in the way of a Darkling Beetle. I started to let it crawl onto my hand and then chickened at. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing since when disturbed they emit a foul smelling odor giving them an alternate name of “Stink Beetle” (not bug). 
Now checking the sun’s progress looking toward the San Andres Mountains. Oh, oh, the sunset is not shaping up to be as red as many we see.
Looking Northeast toward Sierra Blanca Peak. 
Looking roughly East, we see that the desert foothills are lit by the setting sun while the forested mountains behind are not. 
Another mystery. We weren’t sure what this was all about. It suggested that perhaps “something” had buried itself. Again, we didn’t want to disturb it to find out. 
Oh, yikes, I accidentally almost stepped on a Darkling Beetle. Besides emitting a foul odor when disturbed, they stand on their heads and elevate their rear ends. It stayed this way for some time, but since I was afraid I might have actually hurt it, Chris moved it with a stick and off it went — it was just fine. The Darkling Beetle does well in this environment as it needs no water. It can produce water metabolically. 
A Sand Verbena.
This is curious. Wonder what made this almost perfectly round hole?? Snake? A tarantula? Or something else? 
Sunset is getting closer now. 
You know how I like to look at clouds for shapes ~~ well, this one reminded me of a skunk or perhaps a badger with a bit of steam emitting from his nostrils. 😉 
Well, it was time to head home. It was a lovely sunset, but a little disappointing it wasn’t more colorful. It was good to get a little experience with the Canon. Enjoy!
Darline's space 
What kind of Canon do you have? I don’t think I knew that you had one. Regardless, of the disappointing color of the sunset, your photos have shown what a beautiful place this is. I, too, like the photo that came out blue. It really shows the depth of those hills disappearing in the distance.
Thanks for your comment and glad you enjoyed the photos. It is indeed an interesting as well as a beautiful place. The Canon is a T2i. This is the first photos using it I have ever posted. Heretofore, I have used my “handy dandy” Sony H-50.
What a great place to take fantastic shots. I browsed the photos before I read your blog and the photo that really stood out first time round was the shot that appeared quite blue. While the sunset may have not been as spectacular as you would have liked, you still managed to produce some nice shots. A little trick I play with when shooting sunsets is playing with the white balance. It helps to get some great colours, especially when the sun is not producing the colours you want.
What lens did Chris let you play with?
Thanks for your comment, Sandra. I’m glad you liked the photos. I liked the blue one especially, too. Thanks for the little trick on shooting sunsets. I’ll have to give it a try next time. It was his 28-135mm that I was “playing with”. I have two lens, but not that one.