Desert Dunes

We finally did it. We went to the sand dunes. Everyone around here talks about going to the dunes -  having bbqs, dune bashing, and just a general good time. Ken had some random day off that no one else had, so we excused Tyler from school (to spend quality time with his family :) and went on the hunt for these elusive sand dunes. Apparently, you have to know where to go. Even though we LIVE in a desert, it isn't as easy as you would initially think. We spent a good deal of time searching, before we took the plunge, drove off the road at some random point, and wandered into the distance where we could clearly SEE the dunes, but no road leading to them. The trip was full of firsts.

First time we saw a truck full of camels. Trust me, this was cause for great excitement and shouting in our car, as everyone begged dad to "follow them and see where they are going!" Maybe the kids shouted loudest, maybe it was me. My memory is kind of hazy on that point...

First camel crossing sign. Seriously, how cool is that?!

And the dunes. It was wonderful, just this calm, peaceful, BEAUTIFUL and perfect place. With oodles of sand. More than even Hailey could possibly need. It was kind of like a kid paradise. They could run off in three different directions, doing whatever they pleased.

These two explorers did not really have time for pictures. Each dune was it's own mountain to explore! At one point, Tyler was sure he had found a snake track and followed it for a very long time. Turned out to be a bug, but still, he was so excited!

As I've mentioned before, Hailey loves sand. This is a dream land for her - she rolled in it, slid down it, ate it (yeah, still working on that one) and basically showered herself with it. Guess who had fun doing the laundry the next day? I'm pretty sure we brought home about 10 pounds of fine sand with us, hidden in our clothes and shoes. My washer still hasn't forgotten it...

Will was just as enthusiastic as Hailey, except he didn't go for eating it.

And it was a photographer's dream. So many ways to see it, so many ways to change the light and colors. I LOVED it!

The dynamic duo, Ken and Owen!

No snow, no problem! You can do the same things in the sand! OK, except the snowman. Yeah, that really doesn't work.

Tyler is eyeing the jump. Will they make it?!?

We thought we'd be there for an hour max, then head home for dinner. We ended up staying 2+ hours

Sand sand everywhere!

Occasionally, Hailey would complain about there being sand in her eyes... Hmm, wonder how that got there??

Heading back to the car for some snacks.

We let Owen out to play. He was one happy baby!

And then a beautiful sunset. 

Best buddies. 

This face is beautiful, even covered in sand!

We found all kinds of cool rocks. Of course, we also had to have a discussion about how to tell if it was camel poop or a rock. Said discussion was held as Will earnestly tried to hand me some camel poop, insisting it was a rock for our collection at home...

 Owen was especially interested - edible or not? (the rocks, I mean :)

I got some fun silhouette shots of Ken throwing Owen in the air, but blogger has decided to be helpful and lighten them up for me. What?! Oh well, I can assure you, the originals are much cooler :)

Out in the distance is the road we started out on.

We left just after the sun set, and the moon peeked out. If I stopped here though, I would be leaving out some of the most memorable parts. Like how, when we loaded everyone up at exactly dinnertime, we discovered our car had sunk in the sand. A lot. To the axels. Like how my oldest started crying and saying we were going to die in the desert. Like how Ken and I had to get out and dig with our hands, and dig and dig. Like how Ken tried to push us out, and like how when we finally got unstuck, we moved a little and got stuck again. And then by some miracle, a worker in a truck found us and returned with 7 guys, and how they dug and pushed us out. Nah, maybe I'll stop before that and just say that in most ways, it was a perfectly fun outing.