Total Shots taken	444
Number of 5 star ratings (5* yield %)	15 (3.4%)

OK, we have sand dunes near Chicago (Indiana Dunes National Park), and great they might be, but they are NOT coral pink. The coral hue sets these dunes apart – it matches the color of the rocky terrain throughout these western states. In my earlier posts from this week-long photo excursion (see https://eyepointofview.com/2015/10/05/day-2-who-knew-bout-those-hoodoos-5-pix/ and https://eyepointofview.com/2015/09/19/day-1-cedar-breaks-national-monument-5-pix-from-the-side/), I marveled at the hoodoos, the rocky structures that remain after being worn by wind, rain, and other weather patterns. Well, these dunes are the other result – that dust has to go somewhere!

And one of the places where the dust went is the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. As with the other locations we visited, I was awestruck by the beautiful landscape. Hope you enjoy these 5* images from this uniquely colored state park.

• In All Its Glory – A coral sand dune is something to behold. Our group, as with many visitors couldn’t resist the opportunity to walk around it. There is something about leaving a lone set of footprints in the sand that is just irresistible! It was a great walk – the sand was firm because of recent rains.

• Against The Sky — The stark beauty of the tree against the blue sky is just amazing here. Even leafless, the shape of the tree displays its ‘bones’, flanked by the low lying bushes near the ground, and white, puffy clouds in the sky.

• Desert Flora (2) – It’s hard to imagine the flowers and trees that dot the desert landscape. But as this image shows, there is an abundance of green – flowering shrubs, desert grasses, and trees. Lots of green here!

• Yucca (2) – There is lots of brown too, as these tall yucca plants show. Dry and brown, they don’t fit the traditional definition of beauty, but I found them fascinating, whether looking at them up close, with the blue sky and clouds as a backdrop, or from a distance, with the dessert landscape

It’s been two months since this trip, and I am still mining the photos. Even now, as I look at the images, I am struck by the beauty of this part of the U.S. The coral sand dunes are a stunning element of these 5* images — enjoy!