Imperial Sand Dunes

Ogilby Road West of Yuma, Arizona

The wind died down last night and I slept soundly.  My bedroom window is facing East and I awoke as the sun was beginning to rise.

Just starting to peak out with no zoom.

How it looks zoomed in.

It is going to be a great day because it was already 54 degrees and going to be mid seventies this afternoon with all sun.

I had a leisurely breakfast and we laid out in the sun all morning.

Last evening while chatting with the group, Tom asked if I had ever been to Plank Road.  I remembered hearing something about it years ago, but had never been there.  Evidently it is just down I-8 about 10 miles from camp, so I decided to check out the Imperial Sand Dunes and the Plank Road this afternoon.

About 15 minutes after getting my butt out of the lounge chair Yuma and I could see the Dunes on both sides of I-8.

 We took the exit to the Dunes and headed in.  These dunes are about 5 miles wide and stretches 40 miles North to South, so we are only seeing a small portion of it.

We drove into the OHV (off road vehicle) area and took a look but no one was running around.  I guess they were all on break. 

I pulled over to the side of the road and got out with Yuma.  Boy, did he love the sand.  He ran around like it was hard dirt road.  Didn't slow him down a bit.  As for me, my ankles and feet were tired after just a few minutes in that soft fluffy sand.

We then jumped back in the Jeep and drove about three miles further along the road towards the Mexican border.  I could see the wall separating us.

Looks like the traffic is a little slow over there. :))

There isn't much left of Plank Road, so I'll only show a few pictures.

 What it originally looked like.

 What it looks like now.

There was a metal fence around the road to protect what is left.

We soon headed back to camp and as I passed Deb and Riley's Igloo, I could see they were already starting Happy Hour without me.  I drove home and grabbed my chair and Yuma ran over while I walked gingerly on my sore feet from my hike through the Dunes.

We had a great evening chatting and sharing experiences.  Tom, Deb, Deb and Riley.  We were enjoying the last rays of the day. 

As the sun set, we took a few pictures of the beautiful event and called it a night.

Heading home as the sky slowly changes from orange to pink to darkness.

Another beautiful day in the Southwest.  See you later.