Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Location: White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

A few days ago my friend Jeff in Colorado was telling me if I was down around White Sand, New Mexico I should definitely check it out. “It’s like being in a black and white movie!” he exclaimed, and man o’ man was he ever right.

I pulled into White Sands just after four in the afternoon, after safely making it through various U.S. Customs Check Points. Did you know they have Check Points all over the southern US… I didn’t. I always get nervous that they’re going to arrest me, throw my dog in a kennel and disassemble my sweetheart Veronica. Not that they have any cause, aside from the way I look, but still, being above the law, they have that affect on people. My strategy is wear a cowboy hat… lol… strange but true. Back on the Piikani Reservation, Morris used to always say, “You should wear a hat, people like people in hats.” I think he was mostly referring to the Native horsemen we were riding with, but it seems to me the same holds true in the south. If you can wear a cowboy hat well you’ll find it builds grace with the locals.

(Note: It helps if the hat, like mine, has been through hell with you, fits well in windy weather, and has some broken-in grease/dirt/life stains throughout. Otherwise a hat is just a prop, and is likely to get you thrown INTO jail, rather than keep you OUT ;-)

I paid three bucks to enter the monument and three bucks to camp backcountry. No van-camping allowed so after some initial hiking and touring the dunes I hauled my tent, camera gear and water a mile into the dunes to set up. Moses was supposed to be on leash, but with no one in sight and vast huge dunes to rip around in, I let him go.

This place is one of those places that gives you rushes of excitement. As you stand a top the dunes you can’t help but feel, WOW… and not just wow.. but WOW, as the blood rushes through you, shivers run up your spine, and your eyes tear up in the wake of the pure beauty of it all.

It had been a long day and the driving had really knocked me out, but I still pushed on to capture some beautiful images of the dunes in the evening light. You really have to go to this place… my ability with words is failing me.

For dinner Moses ate dried chicken strips and drank out of my stainless steel camping mug, while I dined on a peanut butter sandwich, almonds and dried mango. It was almost dark as we headed out to sit atop a dune and listen to a bird calling as the stars came into being.

The next morning I filmed a bit in the morning light, packed up the tent and gear, headed back to the van, ate some trail mix, and headed out to hike some more. I was carrying only film gear and water, as we set out into the desert, ready to film before it got too hot. We were a quarter mile away atop a dune when I heard a siren blip. I looked back towards the van and there was a ranger vehicle alongside it. The sound travels here, so I listened as I heard the ranger talking into his radio. “Yeah, backcountry camper… I saw him here awhile ago sitting in his van… no he’s gone now… should be close.” What’s going on? Did Customs call and they decided to dissect my poor Veronica after all.

I watched as the ranger hiked up a dune looking away from me. I whistled and he turned towards me waving his arms, and I began heading back.

We met halfway to Veronica and he informed me the military was about to do a missile test and they needed to clear the area. Oh and your dog should be on leash, but I’d let mine run wild here too, so don’t worry about it. Yeah, seriously, more important things to worry about…

After they brought all the hikers together in a central spot out of the backcountry they informed the military who then fired the missile. I was standing on a dune top with my camera, and I saw it go up, but then it was gone, followed by a far off invisible explosion.

I headed back out to the desert but the heat was really picking up and the morning light was gone, so Moses and I only lasted long enough to shoot a couple frames of film and photography.

The military testing changed White Sands for me. It took the purity of the place away and replaced it with thoughts of war games, death and destruction. But the place is still pure, even though the men wielding their weapons of death may not be. And in time the place will live on, while the men will come and go, lost in their self-importance, at the end of their lives perhaps regretting only what could have been.

peace,d