Dust Storms

I remember being somewhere around the age of 8 or 9 and driving through the middle of the US and seeing "dust storms" and "dust devil's". I was always fascinated by them and how the wind controlled them.

Later when I read novels and romance stories under the covers by flashlight (oops... Dad you did not just read that ) hoping I wouldn't get caught. Stories about Adventurous people who lived in the Middle East and rode camels and Arabian horses. There were always places where there was some dramatic dust storm. For some reason, I could never quite get my head around the concept of something that big.

Later after Doug and I were married I remember seeing a car that the pain was almost blistered off of, but it was so smooth it looked like it had been sanded. That is just what had happened to it. I don't remember details other than they had been driving through Nevada and got caught in one of the dust storms.

I didn't give them a thought when we decided to move here. I don't think the thought crossed my mind at all. I guess living on the high desert in Idaho, I know sand but... sand is sand right?

Nope! Not by a long shot. The sand here is very different.

First off, it is very fine. If you take some regular sugar and grind it in a coffee mill (electric) for about 20 seconds, you would end up with about what we have here.

If you go to the beach, it gets in everywhere... if you track it in the house, it goes everywhere. When the wind blows... it really does everywhere.

I decided to go over to the mall today and look around. As I left my apt, I noticed that the sky looked kind of overcast. My mobile buzzed and I had a text from Doug that said the outing we were planning for tomorrow afternoon was being canceled. So I decided to walk up to the Corniche (beach) and take a look. WOW I could barely make out the other side.

I am going to run up to the roof and see if I can get some pictures real quick here. Ok camera worked and cooperated...