My Favorite Landscape Photographs From the Chihuahuan Desert
After a long five-day shower-less, carb-deficient trip to three National Parks, Katie and I were looking forward to some relaxation and recuperation while soaking in a beautiful sunset in the White Sands National Park. Our experience with high winds in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park was nothing compared to the dunes that reached beyond the horizon at White Sands. Gusts can average up to 70 mph in the Chihuahua Desert during the spring and early summer months—and the winds this day had zero plans of easing our adventure.
We arrived in Guadalupe’s neighboring park during the early afternoon, but the winds were so strong that we had difficulty hiking the trails—all of which are easy for any age. When walking through the desert, the patterns in the sand shifted without notice, making it easy to lose your way. The park is diligent about providing frequent markers throughout the trailheads to ensure hikers don’t get lost, but after about 10 minutes it became exponentially harder to determine where we were going. It no longer seemed safe to stroll around the park. We attempted to drive to a few designated piers throughout the park, however, our views were limited by the zooming grains of sand that filled the sky with white and covered much of the single road throughout the park. To further limit our journey, we could not access the entire park due to the newly discovered fossilized footprints—now known as the globe's largest collection of Ice-Age fossilized footprints that tell the story of more than 20,000 years of human presence.
Evidence of fossilized footprints in North America.
Only two years prior had White Sands become a National Park since Hoover’s declaration as a national monument in 1933. The efforts to protect the area from commercial mining stretch back even further to the 1920s when Thomas Charles, known as the “father” of White Sands, knew one day there would be a growing interest to utilize the gypsum dunes and tirelessly informed Congress of the need to guard the extraordinary landscape.
We didn’t see much reason to hang around the park, but on our way out (to wait for sunset), I couldn’t help but at least capture the rapidly evolving desert textures. The ever-changing landscape is unique compared to other deserts. It’s cool to the touch despite the sun’s flaming temperatures because of the left behind gypsum crystals that break down into sand when exposed to the elements; throughout its hottest months, you can walk barefoot along the dunes and feel the cooling sensation of the gypsum crystals. This portion of the Chihuahuan Desert is located in closed basins, preventing water from flowing out of the sand bowls. During the monsoon seasons, fallen rains sink below the ground or form shallow pools that dry out under the desert sun. This process has given White Sands its reputation as the largest gypsum dune field in the world. The runner-up is located in Mexico with third place residing in the Guadalupe Mountains.
Despite the heavy winds, we didn’t want to miss our opportunity to end our unforgettable trip, and at the very least take our photo in front of the National Park sign as we had for the other parks. We drove into the nearest town where there wasn’t much to do, so we opted to go bowling for a few hours to kill some time. After soaking in some A/C we made our way back to the park to wait for a very sandy sunset. We questioned our decision to stick around numerous times, but we didn’t want to risk the winds dying down and catching a gnarly sunset. Our high hopes continued to dwindle as the sun made its way to the horizon.
Driving through White Sands as best we could against large wind gusts up to 70 mph.
What happened next provided one of the most breathtaking moments I have ever experienced as a landscape photographer. I am not a sunset or sunrise chaser, but this sunset made me appreciate the photographers who are. We were notified that the sun sets behind the San Andres Mountains—I’m sure a beautiful backdrop to the National Park when it is visible. The winds never slowed, nor did my tenacity to get the shot. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the experience was nothing short of impressive.
I’m not exaggerating when I say the winds were insane! Before executing our trip, Katie and I pulled up images online of calm dunes with sea-like skies and cotton candy sunsets. We had no idea just how strong these winds would be. It wasn’t until we made our way to the Guadalupe Mountains from Big Bend National Park that we learned of the soaring gusts we’d soon experience. Well, now we know.
Katie giggled at me, not because I was focused on my phone while the sun was setting, but because I was struggling to get my settings right with the limited gear I brought on this trip. I had just upgraded my camera from a Canon T7 to a Canon 90D and only packed a 50mm lens for the trip. This was my first big travel adventure with my new gear and I was worried about all that sand interfering with my sensor, causing specks on these and future images. Thankfully, I was able to get a few good shots.
The sun’s halo beams as it refracts the desert’s accumulated sand grains in the sky.
Again, I only had a 50mm lens with no further equipment to enhance the image; although, I’d like to add more to my arsenal in due time. With limited gear, I focused on composition utilizing the natural lines from the dunes to lead the eyes toward the setting sun. The silhouette of the San Andres Mountains adds another layer of depth, leaving the onlooker to wonder if the sun will set in front or behind.
These next two images lack the halo around the sun, however, they’re unique in how they cast fire across the sky. In the first photograph, the sun is perfectly centered, just above one of the peaks of the mountain ridge as if acting as a pointed brace for our solar system’s shining star. The second image adds another layer of colors as the sun indeed sets behind the mountains and enhances the ridge’s silhouette. Whereas the first image provides highlights atop the dunes that are midrange, the second image casts the highlights on the ripple-like dunes in the foreground. Both are exceptional in their own right.
What the winds provided throughout all these images was something I never would have captured had the air been still—not to take away from the spectacular experience. If clouds were present, we didn’t know; the strong winds carried the grains of gypsum and draped them across the sky. The fire from the sun was trapped beneath and rendered a hot blanket over the Chihuahua Desert and its inhabitants. As the sun approached the mountain ridge, the ball of fire dispersed a warm pallet throughout my images with a natural vignette to frame the moment. After a few retouches in Lightroom Classic, each of these images find a way to tell their own story. We love a happy accident. I’m so happy we decided to stick it out and create a lasting memory to end our National Park tour together.
Before finally exiting the park, we managed to catch the last bits of the day’s glow available from the day’s passion for our pose by the White Sands National Park sign!
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