The Kanab Yucca exists only within this 20 mile radius. Its secret to prevent water loss is thick, waxy leaves.

It is only pollinated by one type of moth, the yucca moth.

Big Sandreed is able to move out of the way of advancing sand. Its seeds are a favorite among the desert's rodent populations.

Rough Mulesears

Vermillion cliffs

Sand-plant mounds are called hummocks or nebkhas.

You can tell which way a nebkha is moving based on which side the plant roots stick out and which side the plant is choked with sand.

Some areas were firm to walk on...

... others were quite soft!

No one actually knows how ripples form. The basics are understood of how sand moves, such as saltation (which means to move by leaping or bounding)... but not all the grains bounce in the same direction or distance, some roll, some tumble, some don't move at all. So how do ripples look so even and perfect?

Sand can be made from almost anything. Here, it's quartz.

Lovely textures

The dividing line...

... and all the damage on the other side

This is the only major dune field that supports ponderosa pines. These trees don't usually grow in deserts but some of the semi-stable dunes have low spots where water naturally collects.

Different types of dunes are formed based on the wind direction. They include parabolic dunes, transverse ridges, barchanoid ridges, linear dunes and climbing dunes.

The park's two largest dunes are a crescent dune and a star dune (100 feet tall from base to peak).

The acorns from Gambel Oaks provide food for many animals.

On the way back to the visitor center, I checked out some OHV/ATV tours since I had heard about a slot canyon in the cliffs, but the price was a bit too steep for me.

In the visitor center there was a wall filled with different sand from all over the world. It was quite impressive!

It was only 11 am but I headed to the campsite anyway. It was empty so I parked. The camping sites were quite large and it was quickly obvious as to why. There were large groups of people, giant trailers and countless desert buggies. It was quite loud.

Roaring out for adventure

Even the kids had their own rides.

To haul all the gear!