That's the only explanation I can come up with. I've been racking my brain trying to understand the rationale behind giving such an obvious name to the white wasteland we drove through on our way back from a family reunion.
The Salt Flats.
So Flat.
So Salty.
Really?
Now, I'll admit, sometimes Nature deserves a certain level of directness, but even this landmark's cousin down in New Mexico has a name with some mystique about it: White Sands... it sounds so cool it could even be a new hotel in Vegas. Welcome to the White Sands...
I have been to the White Sands National Park multiple times. My first brush with it did not go well. As I recall I summed up our experience rather blandly and grumpily (in my defense I had a fever and was very ready to sleep again) We were strolling down a boardwalk of sorts provided for visitors and enjoying the view when it began to sprinkle lightly.
Normally, I would have been a bit cheerier to make the day go by more easily, but a pounding headache forced me to ask of my parents:
"why oh why did they drag us out to the middle of nowhere to trudge along a rickety old bridge, in the rain, looking at dirt?"
Not my most gracious moment.
Regardless, I've since developed an appreciation for the stark vast emptiness of the wilder parts of the world (thank you Planet Earth).
I like White Sands! I like the Salt Flats, too! But couldn't it earned a more creative namesake? This concludes today's rant. Thank you for your cooperation.
I recall your comment at White Sands in a more positive light. We all thought you were being funny and clever. And I don't think you actually said the "why, oh why, did they drag us" part. Or maybe you said it that way first to your siblings and then found a cuter way to say it to us.
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