The very talented Leticia Roman of Hairpins & Scissors asked if we’d be up for an adventure. Leticia and her husband Jon needed new photos for Christmas cards this year, and we were happy to oblige, especially since they were planning to bring their dog Coco! White Sands, New Mexico, is about three and a half hours from Albuquerque, where we all live, so off we went! I (Carissa) personally really dislike the drive south to Alamogordo, but we had the opportunity to knock out a few chapters of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Ben never went through the books, I don’t know how we’re married), so I’m all for it. We decided to bring our pups along for the ride as well, since they’ve never been on a very long road trip, and this trek would help us gauge if they’ll be good boys on camping trips (spoiler alert: they were okay, but not amazing at being in the car for so long).

As soon as we arrived at White Sands, I had a complete attitude adjustment. I was pretty grumpy from being in the car (even though I brought SO MANY SNACKS), but the endless dunes of white have an interesting way of making everything seem super magical. White Sands is primarily made up of gypsum, which is super calcium rich and good for your garden, but is also SUPER fine sand. It’s not quite like snow, but also it’s much finer than any beach sand I’ve ever seen. And it sparkles.

Now go ahead and tell me not to take my home state for granted while you enjoy some images we captured from our day on the dunes.