Home

10%

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

Part 11 in a series about exploring the American West in an RV with an 8 week old baby

By Tommy Nagle

April 21^st, 2020

Southern Utah.

So close to the border you can almost sense the presence of the Grand Canyon concealed beyond the horizon.

Nestled in a furrow between the Moquith and Moccasin mountains, tinted by iron oxides and the minerals of the region, sits a seven-mile long shifting inland sea the colour of smoked salmon.

The Coral Pink Sand Dunes

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

Unlike many others, this park is open to various all-terrain vehicles...

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

...their tracks scrawled across the land like graffiti on a freshly painted wall.

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

Walking up the dunes is no mean feat.

Only when you approach them up close do you begin to appreciate their size, and the two steps forward, one step back effort it takes to scale them.

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

The light changes the colour of the dunes by the minute.

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

SIDE NOTE: I have a soft spot for 70s-era ambiguous logos.

You know the type. The ones that work just as well for TV stations, multinational oil conglomerates, State Parks or evil sci-fi corporations.

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

10 to 15,000 years old, this geological rarity was designated as a State Park in 1963, and is the only home of the Coral Pink tiger beetle.

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

Not that we saw any. Unless you're paying rapt attention, the only obvious evidence of any wildlife is under your feet.

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

The tiny animal tracks linger until the wind decides their time is up.

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

As we came off the dunes we saw a dust storm approaching.

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

A dust storm created by hundreds of cattle being herded by real live cowboys.

And cowgirls.

Cowpeople?

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

It was quite the sight.

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

Men, women and children all atop their steeds, dogs bounding alongside.

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

All the while the bovine mass edged slowly forward, their destination somewhere over the border in Arizona.

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

CORAL PINK SAND DUNES +BABY

Home for the night at the nearby Ponderosa Grove Camp Ground.

$5 a spot. A fire pit and the wind rustling through the trees.

Perfect.

✦

Thanks for reading!

NEXT UP:

White Pocket +Baby

⇣

And if you missed the previous story in this series, then you can find it here:

Grand Canyon North Rim +Baby

✦

If you liked this, click the 'ENJOY' button (either at the top or the bottom of the page), it tells me I'm doing something right.

Subscribe below to get updates for upcoming destinations in this photo story series, and beyond!

Footnotes

All photos taken on Panasonic GH4 or OnePlus 5.

FootNotes

All photos taken on Panasonic GH4 or OnePlus 5.

© 2026 Tommy Nagle

THE WIRE PASS +BABY

The final part in a series about exploring the American West in an RV with an 8 week old baby

WHITE POCKET + BABY

Part 12 in a series about exploring the American West in an RV with an 8 week old baby

GRAND CANYON NORTH RIM

Part 10 in a series exploring the American West with an 8 week old baby

LAKE POWELL, ARIZONA +BABY

Part 9 in a series exploring the American West with an 8 week old baby - Canyon X and Horseshoe Bend

VALLEY OF THE GODS +BABY

Part 8 in a series about exploring the American West with an 8 week old baby

MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK + BABY

Part 7 in a series about exploring the American

Loading, please hold on.