Making Marks

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By melisse
Back in September we spent some days on the Oregon Sand Dunes. We were far away from internet access at the time, on the move and not writing much about our experiences in order to share them with you. So I’d like to take this opportunity to reminisce now.

The dunes are an otherworldly place. The smooth, beige, unmarred, silky, windswept, rolling expanse has an immense elegance. I feel utterly serene in this environment. Quito approaches it with unbridled joy. She particularly likes running straight up the vertical dunes to perch upon their sharp edges.

I dismay at disturbing the surface’s perfection by making tracks in the sand as my feet trod along. It consoles me to know that my tracks will soon be erased as the wind sweeps the tiny grains of sand from place to place. Until that occurs, however, a momentary trace of history is left behind. The meager life that has the fortitude to dwell or visit there leaves its mark. It is fun to follow a line of “s” shaped marks over hill and dale. Perhaps a snake or lizard has made this path. But why? Seeking what? Half-inch-wide, double-ridged trails twist and turn through a patch of scrubby-leafed plants. Could it be the leaves make that mark as they scratch the pristine surface? Holding onto a leaf, I try to duplicate the effect and decide that couldn’t be it. Then I spy a little beetle scuttling along, making its unique linear signature in the sand. Mystery solved.

The wind creates its own sculptural marks. If I knew physics, perhaps I’d figure out how the conditions combined to form such beauty. But instead I just enjoy the forms and drink in the vast splendor.

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Comments

[jill]

Quito
Yay! More images of Quito! I read this entry to Penelope and told her all about it. The images are lovely and it's great to see all of you so happy.

[Recessionista]

Thanks
Jill, thanks so much for your comments in our blog. It's much more fun writing when we know someone is out there reading our entries. Thanks again. Melisse and Dave

[ellen]

so lovely!
I am happy to see the beautiful places you are visiting. How profoundly peaceful it must be on those dunes! I miss you and think of you often. Thanks for posting the blogs. It's so good to catch up with you in cyberspace at least. Lots of love, Ellen

[Jocelyn]

You've definitely convinced me that this is a place I should visit someday. Also, that is one happy puppy you got there.