Evening at Kelso Dunes

"Your body can't go where your mind hasn't already been."

A little nugget of wisdom I picked up at a training I was at last week. And it can be true on so many levels.  You can't really tell from the perspective of this photo, but that's a 600 foot tall sand dune on the horizon.  I arrived at this location too late in the day to try and hike to the top of the dune in time for sunset, but I was intent on getting there in the morning.  I went there in my mind first.  Imagining myself struggling up the side of the steep, sandy slope and the reward of the amazing views that I was sure awaited me at the summit.  I believe going there in my mind first was crucial to my success in making it to the top the next morning (more on that later).  

This is the Kelso dune field in Mojave National Preserve, California.  I first heard about these dunes about a year and a half ago or so and ever since then I've wanted to visit them.  They sure didn't disappoint.  The dunes are massive and as you approach them from the nearby highway they look like a gigantic wall of sand.  It was an amazing place to spend some time.  Like so many places I visited on this trip, I can't wait to go back!