Needed to get a little nature to improve my mood today, so I spent a little time with my wife and her friend at White Sands National Park. The park, with its snow white gypsum sand, has become one of my favorite places lately.

My wife’s friend of hers is into cosplay and makes costumes for characters I never heard of that apparently win contests. It’s a whole world I know nothing about, but I appreciate it. It’s creative.

While they took photos I mostly concerned myself with nature. It’s so cool to see how dunes work, how they move, how plants have adapted to stabilize them.

View of the dunes in White Sands National Park, just at sunrise. Looks a lot like snow at first.

I’m almost surprised that anything grows in the dunes, but there’s an ecosyste there. Desert plants, holes leading to burrowing critters of one kind or another.

This was from a couple of weeks ago or whenever the full moon was. They had an event celebrating the full moon, with music from a jazz band. It was so bright on that white sand.

I really liked the subtle colors in this one, pointing the camera away from the moon, showing a bit of city glow in the distance.

My wife being a sand mermaid, or something. She and her friend had a whole cosplay thing going. I just tagged along.

My wife’s friend showing off a costume she made for some character in a game I think. Looked cool, whatever it was.