Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

https://www.nps.gov/grsa/index.htm  The tallest sand dunes in the U. S. are found here.  A dramatic picture presented itself as we drove into the National Park.  The sand dunes were made even more impressive with the beautiful mountains in the background.  Picking the best time of day for taking photos became a great game.  Late afternoon proved to be the best time. There are 6 endemic species of insects found here.  Nowhere else on earth can you find the Great Sand Dunes Tiger Beetle.  Many animals (birds, amphibians and mammals) are also found here.  In fact over 200 species of birds use this area as their habitat. Black-billed Magpie Sangre de Christo Mountains in background The dune field and much of the mountains are designated as wilderness I love capturing sand dunes in pictures.  The forms and edges, the lights and darks are ever changing. The Medano Creek - fun to wade across and play in the sand.

It was a warm (well hot!) windy afternoon and we both wanted to visit at least part of Canyon de Chelly.  Having visited this site many years ago, it was such fun to see it again.  Next time I really want to take the jeep tour to the bottom!  https://www.nps.gov/cach/index.htm The cholla (one of my favorite desert plants) were blooming.  I think they have some of the prettiest blooms and some of the most dangerous stickers!   It's so easy to step on a piece that has come off the mother plant and so difficult to pull out the stickers.   Beautiful Cholla Standing in the hot wind thinking about the early inhabitants caused me to compare their lives with ours today.  The scenery is beautiful and harsh  and peaceful.  Wonderful to see but I don't want to work that hard.  At the bottom of the canyon the trees were green and you can see where the people lived 5000 years ago.  Navajos live there today and I could see their trucks and homes from the rim. Cliff Dw

Peter and I just returned from our summer road trip to the Great Sand Dune National Park in Colorado.   I'll be sharing some of the sites along the way in the next couple of blog posts and hope you enjoy them. Alamosa Nat'l Wildlife Refuge(   https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Alamosa/about_the_refuge.html ) This is a wildlife refuge that covers 11,169 acres and has a mission to enhance the wetlands and desert habitats while providing protection for migratory birds.  It is located in the San Luis Valley in south central Colorado. It wasn't until we drove into the visitor's center and followed the scenic trail that I realized what diverse habitat existed in this area.  The road followed the Rio Grande where we saw a Ruddy Duck in breeding plumage.  I love the male's blue beaks!  Ruddy Duck in breeding plumage At the visitor center there was a large milkweed plant that was different than the ones we have.  I did not see any Monarch butterflies but the blo