Hair New Era

White Sands National Monument in New Mexico was one of the absolute highlights for me during our trip. I had often seen pictures of this desert and wanted to go there for a very long time. I had always thought that it is similar to the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado, but when I actually saw this spectacular sandy area I realized that it is very different. The sand is very white and sometimes even resembles snow. It actually holds almost the same challenges for a photographer as snow does.

The sky was overcast when we arrived, but the closer we got to the sunset the clearer the air and light became. We stayed until after the sunset - it was windy and VERY cold, but those hours we spent there were worth every single minute. I would return in a heartbeat.

Our family is crazy about animals. We don't have any pets because of heavy allergies, but that doesn't mean that we don't love them. We enjoy wildlife, and it is an absolute highlight if we see wild animals during our trips. Therefore, the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum in the Tucson Mountains has always been a must for us - we visited every time we came to Tucson, and of course, last time was no exception.

"Museum" might not be the right term, it actually is a zoo that displays flora and fauna of this special desert. No need to create habitats for the animals, they're already there. I was surprised to learn that beavers live in the desert and more than delighted to see Mexican wolves. This kind of wolf is almost extinct in the United States, but during the past few years it has been re-introduced into this area and hopes are high that they will settle down and multiply.

So - take a look at some of the animals that call the Arizona Sonora Desert home.

After having left Palm Desert our next destination was Tucson, AZ and the Saguaro National Park - our third visit to this area. Those saguaros are kind of a landmark for deserts, but you actually only find them in the Sonoran Desert. They are very impressive plants and give home to a variety of birds and little critters.

The National Park has two parts - one in the Tucson Mountains to the west, and one in the Rincon Mountains to the east of Tucson. I never can decide which one I like better - the Rincon one has a beautiful scenic loop with gorgeous views whereas the Western part is rougher with dust roads. In the Tucson Mountains you also find the fabulous Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum which is such a jewel (that will be a separate post though).

We visited both parts, one in the afternoon and one in the morning of the following day. The light was difficult on both days and quite a challenge for taking photos. However, I hope you enjoy this peek into this special desert.

In my post on the last day of last year I said that I would love to share our winter trip to the desert with you. This I will do step by step since I don't want to "flat you" with one super-huge post and endless pictures. Plus, I'm still sorting through the photos, so this is a work in progress.

Our original plan had been to go to the National Parks in Utah. Those belong to our favorite ones, we had been to all of them repeatedly, but we love them so much that we never tire of them. There are always new trails to discover and revisit spots we cherish. However, the weather forecast for the region was wet, wet, wet - we weren't really keen on that. We had hoped for snow since the Red Rock Country looks so beautiful with snow, but there wasn't any in the forecast. So we checked out which places were dry and sunny - Arizona and New Mexico, no surprises here. So we went southeast.

And happened to have a full day of rain while driving down I-5 through Central and Southern California! The closer we came to the south the heavier the rain became. The Grapevine area was terrible (and it was already dark at that time)... Driving through L.A. was actually way easier than I had thought and we arrived in Palm Springs in the evening. The next morning was dry (not for very long though as we got to know later on) and we decided to spend the morning in Palm Desert - wandering along El Paseo, a long boulevard with nice shops and interesting sculptures.




Finally I found an Anthropologie store - the very first one for me (there aren't any where I live). I pretty much got blown away by this one - the displays are so creative and beautiful (the prices, though, are not!), it's a mere pleasure to wander around the store and take it all in.