Spike and I added seas to our goals since the shores of America reach from “sea to shining sea.”
We were going to visit both the remains of the Permian Sea (the White Sands) and the Cahuilla Sea, which left behind the sands that create the Algondones Dunes off of Route 8. The dunes would have been our 19th stop.
However, as Tumble Weed (Spike) was not completely himself when we left the White sands, we by-passed the dunes and headed to Long Beach.
There, we nabbed our final sample of sand from the most westerly part of our continental journey!
Our former coast, millions of years ago, ended at the shores of Permian Sea. As climate change reshaped the landmass that makes up North America, that sea became no more than a lake–Lake Otera. Further climate change, left nothing but what we see now–miles and miles of white gypsum sand. It is very much worth visiting…just follow the paw prints and maybe one day, you, too, will stand where Spike stood!
Things to research:
Algodones Dunes or Imperial Dunes California created by the Cahuilla Sea
The Permian Sea which is currently the White Sands
Spike looking out at the endless dunes of sand…hmmm and another human out there.
