Dust storms were scary, more so when you were caught in one and couldn't walk fast enough to get away as the white sand (gypsum in this case) were so much more difficult to walk on than beach sand!
Why were we caught in a dust storm, couldn't we tell it's coming, one might ask?
Well, because the landscape was getting prettier by the minute, and that someone just had to stop and take "just one more photo, I promise"!
At White Sands National Park, pale gypsum sand covers some 715 square kilometers (275 square miles) of desert, providing ample material for storms when strong winds strike, and that's exactly what we experienced while out on a hike (black diamond grade).
We made it back before the wind really picked up, and spent the next many minutes removing the gypsum powders from our shoes before entering our RV.
By the time we were done, the parking lot was empty except for our vehicle and one other. The patrolling park ranger asked us if we saw anyone still on the trail, we told him everyone was back except for a couple who's heading into the storm. Head's shaking!
The dunes were formed after the evaporation of an ancient sea. Here's the link on the geology of White Sand if you're interested:
www.nps.gov/whsa/learn/geology-of-white-sands.htm
PS: That's the gypsum powder I was playing with in my profile photo.
