PHOTO GALLERY: Photos of visitors enjoying some spring break recreation on the sand dunes Tuesday afternoon at Monahans Sandhills State Park. According to Texas Parks & Wildlife website, the park is only a small portion of a dune field that extends about 200 miles from south of Monahans westward and north into New Mexico. Plants stabilize most of these dunes, but many dunes in the park are still active. Active dunes grow and change shape in response to seasonal, prevailing winds and can grow up to 50 feet tall. Fresh water occurs at shallow depths within the dune field. Sometimes it even seeps up through the sand to stand in low areas between dunes. A quiet vigil near such seeps at dusk or dawn is the best way to observe wildlife such as badgers, wood rats (pack rats), kangaroo rats, Javelinas and feral hogs. You might also see Jerusalem Crickets making their way across the sand. The park offers an 800-acre equestrian area, which has no marked trails. Expect heavy sand with brush and a few mesquite trees. The park also offers 26 campsites with water, electricity, and shade shelter. The Dunagan Visitor Center is closed for renovations. The park office is now at the Sandhills Picnic Pavilion.
