After a great tour through the Dunes to the Race Point Light, I decided to try the Sunset Dune Tour that was offered by Art’s. We arrived in plenty of time and found that we had a lot of company. There were seven GMC eight passenger Suburbans all loaded to experience the magic of the Dunes. I brought all my equipment, lenses and tripod and loaded it all in the rear of the truck. I carried my Nikon around my neck to shoot as we made our journey. Dennis was our driver, he was an old Dunes had and had actually lived for a while in one of the infamous shacks. Dennis explained the ecosystem of the Dunes which had been created after the Pilgrims had clear cut all the trees. The result of not having anything to hold the soil in place created the shifting sand dunes. The grasses were planted by the Town of Provincetown and the U.S Forest Service to help control the erosion that was taking place. The Forest Service manages the National Seashore that encompasses the Dunes. Access to these areas are strictly controlled and regulated. As you can see from the following images the trees and plants still exist.
They are lower to the ground to better cope with the winds and available water supplies.
There are fourteen shacks that are located in the Dunes. One is privately owned and the rest are under the control of the Forest Rangers. They have no running water, electricity or indoor toilets. Yet there is a waiting list to rent them. It is a strange group of nomads that exist in this sandy playground. Every time I travel to the Dunes I enjoy it more. Here are some shots I took. It was the night of the Blue Moon and the Sunset was spectacular. Seals were traveling by in groups of between and twenty and fifty pups. It was just an amazing experience.
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