Public lands: St. Anthony Sand Dunes, Idaho

May 28, 2015

St. Anthony Sand Dunes, Idaho -- a part of the undifferentiated lands of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Department of Interior. #Sunset photo by Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management - Idaho.

St. Anthony Sand Dunes, Idaho — a part of the undifferentiated lands of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Department of Interior. #Sunset photo by Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management – Idaho.

From the Department of Interior Facebook page:

Located far from any ocean, the St. Anthony Sand Dunes appears as a rolling sea of sand on the eastern edge of Idaho’s volcanic Snake River Plain. These vast dunes are the largest in Idaho. They blanket an area approximately 35 miles long and 5 wide, and range from 50 to 500 feet high. These white quartz sand dunes are a unique and popular recreational area for off-highway vehicle enthusiasts, hikers and equestrians. The best time to visit is spring through fall; summer temperatures cause sands to reach over 100 degrees. #Sunset photo by Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management – Idaho.

One more stellar example of the great resources held by U.S. citizens for the future, for preservation — and for recreation and awe.

James and Michelle sent photos from their recent foray to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado. Kathryn, Kenny, James and I camped at the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in Utah some years back, at the new Moon, the better to be wholly awestruck at the stars at night.

Michelle and James on top of a dune at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

Michelle and James on top of a dune at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, 2015

Then there are the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan. White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. Some dunes in Joshua Tree National Park and Death Valley National Park.  I can show you smaller collections of dunes on the Navajo and Hopi Reservations in Arizona and New Mexico.

Where else in America do we have marvelous dunes like these?  (I’ve missed some, I’m sure — tell me in comments.) When you start thinking about it, it’s a lot!

Each site well worth the time and trouble to get there.

Take your camera, and your memory-making machine.


Maybe Texas can learn from this: What about when life sends you blizzards?

May 28, 2015

What do you do when life gives you blizzards? Image from film by FableVision

What do you do when life gives you blizzards? Image from film by FableVision

Another piece from Peter H. Reynolds and Fablevision, perhaps appropriate to Texas waking up near the end of Memorial Day week, with acute floods history and being cleaned up, but flood waters working their way down the major Texas rivers, ready to ravage even more communities.

Is the drought gone, yet?

When Life Gives You Blizzards, from FableVision:

Uploaded on Dec 23, 2010

A short animation by Peter H. Reynolds and FableVision about a boy who makes the best of a stormy situation. Directed by John Lechner, sound design by Tony Lechner.