It’s a bit cool this morning, dawn roughly 60 minutes away. A local breeze stirs the native grasses and low shrubs and dislodges grains of sand from the unmarked trail. I say unmarked as my headlamp illuminates footsteps from previous visitors, not all going along the same path, though seemingly in the same general direction. The path undulates up, over, down and up again within the low dunes, though constantly increasing in elevation towards this morning’s destination, whose tops are now barely visible in the pre sunrise light, the Kelso Dunes.

Established by 1994’s California Desert Protection Act, the Mojave National Preserve’s 1.6-million-acre park encompasses much of the Mojave Desert, including the Kelso Dunes. Created many centuries ago when prevailing winds carried sand particles from Soda Dry Lake, the Mojave River Sink and Devil’s Playground to the base of the Granite Mountains, the dunes rise to over 650 feet in height and cover an area approximately 45 square miles in size.

I’m now more or less at the base of the primarily exposed portions of the dunes, looking for photographic opportunities, and deciding the easiest way to get there. I’m wearing my special high ankle boots, special since they have wide soles, and when I walk flat footed, my steps barely disturb the sand, making it easier to proceed upward. Where possible, I avoid stepping on vegetation, since their obvious fragility would not be enhanced by my wide boots. And it’s because of my respect for the environment and my hopes of leaving it at least as pristine as I find it. But my wide boots make my passage easier, because it’s all about me.

Today is shaping up to feature a basically a cloudless sky, just what I am pursuing for best imaging of the dunes. I am beginning to see how the lighter portions of the dunes contrast with portions in heavy shadow. I labor upward, my heart rate rising along with the elevation. I notice I am sweating, even in the cool weather, and slow down my ascent. There, I see my first photographic destination, and I set up my tripod and wait for the light to illuminate the dune’s tapestry, laid out so gloriously for me this morning.

And I continue this just so, many times this day, until I trudge back to my camp, exhausted, the bright sun casting its harsh light over the now heating landscape, like the many times in the past that I’ve visited these dunes. I’ve witnessed a full moon over the dunes, winds well over 40 miles an hour, extreme temperature fluctuations, thunderstorms, and awesome natural lighting, but feel that for each visit, the environmental conditions and place are special, unique and never to be repeated.

And that’s why I’ve visited the dunes so many times over the years and will continue to do so until my special wide sole boots give out.