Dispatch #44 - Algodones Dunes
Have you heard of the Algodones dune system? At eight miles wide and forty miles long, it’s one of the largest dune fields in North America, stretching from east of the Salton Sea, over Interstate 8, and into Mexico. Within it lies the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area, a managed portion overseen by the BLM. It’s here that off-highway vehicles are permitted, and where the landscape feels most shaped by use—the most visited, the most developed, and, for many, the most familiar version of the dunes.
I first visited in early 2021 while working on The Enduring Wild. It was, in every sense, a strange time to be out there. Covid was surging. Vaccines were still on the horizon. January 6 was less than a month old. The mask wars were deepening. Angst was the mood of the day.
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