Just 62 miles south of Boise is Bruneau Sand Dunes State Park – a sprawling wonder of a windswept centerpiece that juts loftily away from the high desert plains and rolling foothills of archetypal Southwest Idaho. The unpaved, rut-stricken Sand Dunes Road leads directly to the base of Bruneau’s tallest dune – an impressive 470 ft. mass of sand, whipped into long, billowing peaks by the relentless and torrential wind.

 It appeared to me a towering sandcastle, shaped by massive, ghostly hands, and just looking at it stirred in me an overwhelming desire to conquer – to run up its sloping sides as quickly as my sturdy leather boots could carry me, feeling with each step the sucking, shifting deep of the sand.

Upon reaching the crest of the dune, my entire body was smacked hard by the phantom hand of the wind, my ankle-brushing turquoise skirt and true red jacket acting like sails on the mast of my body. I leaned forward, shut my eyes against the stark sunlight, and gave my weight to the wind. Standing on the crest of Bruneau, my body suspended by the sheer force of the wind, I felt free….it’s moments like these that keep me here, in this hopelessly flawed and endlessly awe-inspiring state of Idaho.

My feeling on the place I’ve chosen to call home often wavers greatly between paroxysms of joy and utter despondence…..but most days I hover directly in the middle, in a state of comfortable acceptance. Lately though, this state has shown its abrasive side more effectively than the sunbleached sandscape I fell in love with last weekend.

Idaho Senate Bill 1387 has severely shaken what little confidence I had in our state’s ability to focus on actual issues. I’m disgusted and insulted that the majority of our spring legislative session was caught up in the vacuous mire of this absurd argument. I find it particularly despicable that such an emotionally charged issue is being so hotly debated at a time when vastly more important discussions should be taking place. It’s such an unbelievably stupid argument, I wonder how anyone can take it seriously long enough to state their case on either side.

I love my home. I can drive less than an hour in any direction and be surrounded by sand, hiking deep in the mountains, lounging in natural hot springs, routing world-class rock climbs, and countless other incredible assets that make Idaho an unbeatable place to live. But it’s a damned good thing this state has so much to offer, because there’s plenty else in this little corner of the country that make Idaho an exhausting home as well….all the more reason to savor my blissful, fleeting moments lying contentedly in the sand.

Thanks so very much to Bethany Walter and Jeanne Glitzow for
capturing this glorious day with these lovely photos.