Dune Grass, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

We camped in a small BLM campground near Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in Utah near the Arizona border. The kids were excited to climb to the top of the highest dunes, and I performed the photography dance with tripod in sandy conditions. Making sure that no camera gear touches the sand while getting the tripod set up and camera out always takes a bit of doing.

It was great fun watching Julian and Nicky roll down the dunes, getting coated with sand in the process (yes, I do have the photos to prove it!).

It’s disappointing that this park has essentially been turned over to dune buggy (off-road vehicle) fanatics. True, there are a few “conservation” areas set aside. But you can’t walk in them without being blasted by dune buggy engine noise. I took quite a few photos of vehicle tracks in the sand (in fact, it was hard to find pristine areas to photograph) and I may publish some track abstractions if I can overcome my disgust.

I remember visiting quite a few years ago when this place was tranquil and serene. Now it’s not. Considerring that these unique dunes are a fragile ecosystem with unique plant and animal life, it verges on the criminal that it has been so badly desecrated. Shame on the BLM (Bureau of Land Management, part of the US Department of the Interior) and Utah Parks Department who have presided over this give away to a small, noisy, and very destructive special interest group.