desert southwest

Sculptures of Sand

Sculpted by wind and time, the ancient sentinels of Monument Valley stand as testament to the rugged beauty of the desert southwest. Their stoic presence speaks of resilience, whispering tales of a time when dinosaurs roamed the land. The Navajo people revere these formations, considering them sacred places imbued with the spirits of their ancestors. Gazing upon these natural wonders, we are humbled by the enduring power of nature and the vastness of time.

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
Navajo Nation USA

Lines in the Sand

Mother Nature's fingerprint at White Sands National Park. The delicate lines on the dunes at dawn are a mesmerizing reminder of the ever-changing desert landscape. Witnessing the hues in the sand transition to warm to cool colors at dusk, and reverse again at dawn, was a big factor to decide to camp in the park. And it was worth every ounce of sand I discovered in the tent and backpack thereafter.

White Sands National Park
NM USA

Chasms in the sandstone

In the red sandstone canyons of the Navajo Nation, there lies one replete with mysterious curves that bend and reflect the light in strange ways. Even mid-day sometimes never makes it down the canyon, but it highlights the striations that wind along the sinuous walls. Its a delightful photographic journey to walk down the canyon and immersing in the beautiful creation of water.

Navajo Nation
AZ USA

A National Parks Journey - Petrified Forests National Park

I had meant to combine a visit to Petrified Forests National Park, tucked away in the north-eastern corner of Arizona, along with Grand Canyon during the spring of 2020. But Covid had put a stop to those grandiose plans. Nevertheless I found myself at the entrance of this Park one year later. It is one of those Parks that you can only visit and explore during the daylight hours, unless you were the few who chose to spend the night under the stars in the vast backcountry wilderness. But on this trip, I hadn't carried any gear to do so, and I chose to remain one of the daytrippers.

I wasn't sure what to expect of Petrified forests, apart from actually seeing petrified wood which I did. But I also found colorful badlands made of layers of blue clay, a desert-like landscape with large swathes of red color painted over, and crystalline wood still resembling buried logs but in various shades of blue, white, green and other colors. After seeing all these, I had wished I could have spent the night to experience this vast desert landscape after dark.

This vista showcases the Painted Desert, one of the likely choices for backcountry camping in the park. With no freshwater available, you would have to haul everything in and out yourself - and that is not for the casual traveler.

Petrified Forests National Park
AZ USA

A National Parks Journey - Joshua Tree National Park

I was surprised that I had put off visiting the 8th National Park in the State of California for this long. Especially since I had lived in California for over 8 years. The Park itself was easy to access from the town of Palm Springs, which makes for a suitable base to visit the Park. And even though I hadn't expected to see much in this park except for its namesake - the Joshua Tree, I was pleasantly surprised to explore a thriving desert landscape with very unique rock formations.

Cacti of different species, including this forest of spiny chollas, called this rocky landscape home, as do the iconic boulder formations that have attracted boulderers from all over the continent. But framing all this are the namesake cacti - the Joshua tree, that is so emblematic of the Colorado Desert Region of Southern California. While heading out of the park on a colorful evening, I found this forest just as the sun dipped below the mountains and lit up the sky.

Joshua Tree National Park
CA USA

A National Parks Journey - Saguaro National Park

The winter was proving to be depressing, and in a bid to escape to a sunnier climate, we chose to explore deserts of Arizona and White Sands. Saguaro National Park, in South-Central Arizona, made for a quick day trip from the neighboring town of Tuscon. The Park, so named for its spectacular forests of the nation's cacti, offers plenty of hikes where trails explore the diverse Sonoran desert ecosystem.

The park is divided into two parts - the Tuscon Mountain District and the Rincon Mountian District. We chose to spend the day exploring the former due to its proximity to the city of Tuscon. The latter, on the other hand, offers plenty of wilderness opportunities, including backcountry camping. If we were to come back, the Rincon would be the place to explore.

Here is one of the spiky Saguaros under a moody grey sky of the Sonoran desert.

Saguaro national Park
AZ USA

A National Parks Journey - White Sands National Park

On my feed, I have often waxed poetry about White Sands, which I had first visited when it was still a National Monument. Sheer white sand dunes of the type found in White Sands National Park take on otherworldly hues at the magic hours of sunrise and sunset. And since the park is open only from an hour after sunrise to an hour before sunset, the only way to experience the magic hour is to camp between the dunes. Doing so requires contending with freezing temperatures and billowing winds, desert bugs and wildlife, and lack of any water. But the reward is the ability to shoot at the golden hours.

After grabbing dinner, it is time to take up the camera and shoot the dunes before night sets in. And while the evening light brings on yellow, and later pink hues on the sand, I prefer shooting the dunes before sunrise when the dunes take on a blue tone reflecting the deep blue desert sky of New Mexico. It also helps that the winds blowing through the night ensure that the fresh ripples in the sand constitutes a new canvas ready for another day of painting by the light.

Even though I have been there twice, this place has enraptured my heart so much that I would never refuse another night of camping in the dunes.

White Sands National Park
NM USA

A National Parks Journey - Carlsbad Caverns National Park

I always thought of caves as a dark and dank place that I hope I would never get caught in without a source of light. Spelunking, or cave exploration clearly wasn't my thing. But walking through the open gaping hole in the earth down to its inner depths along an artistically lighted walkway that highlighted the classic limestone formations of a cave - the tall stalagmites and the dangling stalactites and straws, towering columns and thin curtains. The walkway wove through a profusion of such formations in the karst-laden cave, formed when acidic rainwater slowly dissolved naturally occurring limestone over thousands of years.

And even though I enjoyed my first, and subsequent visit, my irrational fear of caves still remain. This fear was reinforced when, on one of the guided trips, the ranger cut power to all the lights, leaving us tourists to bathe in darkness.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park
NM USA

Black and White Sands

A late afternoon dust-storm picks up fine sand from the dunes of White Sands National Park. This National Park, tucked within two mountain ranges of New Mexico, hosts the largest sand dunes made of gypsum sand that looks like snow, but flows like salt. Finer than regular sand, frequent windstorms easily pick up the pearl white dunes, erasing footprints of days past, leaving being sharp ripples that move every single day.

Due to the constantly shifting dunes, there are no fixed trails here, except for a series of markers for directional guidance. And even though they are small, it is easy to wander and get lost amidst the vast expanse of the dunes. But that shouldn't deter you from making a visit to this unique park in the desert southwest.

White Sands National Park
NM USA

The Women of my Life

The women of my life.jpg

There have been many incredible women who have been part of my life, women who have struggled and succeeded against many odds. But perhaps one person I continue to admire every single day is my partner, whether it be her zest for life, her curiosity to travel, her openness to new adventures, or her passion for social causes. Every single day, I get to learn new stories about her past, and the challenges she has faced in getting to where she is today.

This is dedicated to her tenacity to see and set the world right, and to the other women who have endeavored to do so in their own way.

White Sands National Park
NM USA