Bruneau Sand Dunes: Simplify2 min read time

Sometimes when life gets hectic and complicated (sometimes?!?), my favorite release is to get away to a landscape where it’s just simple. And nothing speaks simple like sand dunes. Southeastern Idaho is a surprising place to find dunes, but there they are. Bruneau Sand Dunes is just a small State Park outside of Mountain Home Idaho. Not far off the beaten path, but far enough to make internet and phone reception kinda sketchy. Just how I like it. More simple, right? And in November, it’s even more simple with very few people to share it with. Just a whole lot of birds. In fact, I apparently was just a smidge too early to catch the great fall migration. I’ll have to time it better next time.

But that was surprising too, all the water that attracts those birds. In the middle of these lovely sand dunes, there were large ponds (or small lakes?) attracting large populations of water fowl. Springing up along their banks were groves of scrub oak, in their own throes of final fall colors, perfect habitat for owls. This big old Horned Owl didn’t seemed particularly perturbed by my presence at all. In fact he stared me down right proper…

Bruneau Sand Dunes is perfect habitat for photographers too. I’m grateful I don’t have to go to Namibia, or some other far flung place to capture the grace of simple sand lines & s-curves, so pleasing to the eye.

Textures sculpted in the sand are another favorite. It’s fun to find different compositions highlighted by late afternoon rays. Just picture me rolling around in the sand in all sorts of contortions trying to find the right angle.

Footprints however, aren’t my favorite, unless they are leading me somewhere interesting. These footprints were almost erased by the winds.

Isn’t that great? Swept clean by the winds, the dunes get a fresh start. Yup, exactly what I’m looking for….

Next week we’ll start exploring a few more of these special places, seeking wide open simple spaces to sweep your mind clean and give you a fresh start. I hope you’ll join me. And just to make sure you don’t miss it, be sure to subscribe to my blog, top right of this page, so you’ll get notification!

More of my favorite images from the Bruneau Sand Dunes are in this Gallery.