Amargosa Valley Sand Dunes - 10/06/14

Today we wanted to get a closer look at these dunes in the middle of the Amargosa Desert several miles west of Highway 95 N. I did an earlier post with some photos taken from the highway of Big Dune (another name for these dunes).

We turned left on Valley View Boulevard (about 8 miles north of the Alien 51 Travel Center) from Highway 95 N. After driving a couple of miles we turned right onto a dirt road that was marked only by some cones and safety tape.

We followed the rough road for about 1.5 miles until we encountered a middle-aged man walking in the desert who was waving us down. He had gotten his Jeep stuck in the sand and asked us to call 911 to explain his location (which we did). It turns out he had already called them, but we were able to provide more detailed information about the location. And we learned that help was, in fact, on the way. The guy was European and had been waiting alone there for a couple of hours. He was concerned that they had not understood him as he spoke broken English. We tried to push the jeep out of the sand, but were unsuccessful.

We parked our Mini Cooper (as we did not want to get stuck, too!) and started walking toward the dunes.

The tallest dune is about 500' tall.

Check out the sand buggies!

Some of the smaller dunes in this complex star dune system are shown here.

The closer we got to the dunes the more sandy the soil became. Without a 4-wheel drive vehicle, you will definitely get stuck!

The sand was so hot that it hurt the pads of Sadie's feet, so we stopped to cool her down with water and made our way back to the car. John even carried her part of the way! As we made our way to the car the sand had more gravel and did not seem to bother her as much as the more sandy areas.

View of the desert to the east.

It's hard to believe any vegetation can survive in this environment. And it's October! During the summer months the heat on the sand here would be unbearable.

The sand dunes are in a very remote location. If you visit be sure to have plenty of water, hiking boots, a hat, and do not drive too close to the dunes unless you have a 4-wheel drive vehicle. Fortunately, we were able to make a phone call (AT&T) from the location, so be sure to bring a mobile phone as well.

Also, help did arrive to pull the guy's Jeep out of the sand. This was a good lesson on just how unforgiving this desert environment is.

Website:  www.duneguide.com/sand_dune_guide_amargosa.htm