Coral Pink Sand Dunes

(Catching up on vacation posts.)  On the way from Zion to Bryce, there are Coral Pink Sand Dunes.  Our kids love nothing more than sand so I thought it was worth a stop.  It was awesome.  The sand was velvety soft and yes, a lovely salmon pink color.  Bare feet were a must.  The top inch of the sand was warm, and below that it was cool.  It was so fine that we watched a beetle leave fancy tracks in it.

I learned a little about the geology of sand dunes.  For dunes to occur, you need (1) a source of sand; (2) lots of wind; and (3) particular geological formations so that the wind slows down rather suddenly, dropping its load of particles.  In this neighborhood, the abundant Navajo sandstone provides the sand.  I don't know why it's windy (why is anywhere windy?) but what wind there is is funneled up this giant bowling-alley-shaped region, concentrating and eventually slowing the fast-moving air so that the sand all falls right here.  Continual winds keep the sands shifting and prevent much vegetation from taking hold.

In the background of the above photo, some teenagers with toboggans are trudging up the biggest dune, hoping for a fun slide down.  It didn't work: the sand is not slidey enough.  This is a shame, because it's devilishly tiring to walk around here.

We did make it to the top of a smaller hill for a photo.