Spirit Sands, Manitoba

The Spirit Sands resulted from the drainage of an immense glacial lake, Lake Agassiz, over 12 000 years ago. Lake Agassiz created what we know today as the Great Lakes. When this lake drained, the sediments settled out, resulting in large sand deposits over the 6 500 square kilometer delta area. However, only 4 square kilometers remains as open dunes today. The Spirit Sands were of great religious importance to the aboriginal people. However, they earned the nickname the "Devil Sands" due to the strange noises that could be heard at night, resulting from the shifting sands.

The Spirit Sands aren't a true desert, since a desert receives less than 250 mm of precipitation per year. Typically this area averages 300 mm per year. So it is actually a semi-arid region. However, for Canada, that's close enough for me!

Location

The Spirit Sands are located in Spruce Hills Provincial Park. This is about a 2.5 hour drive south-west of Winnipeg. However, it is definitely worth the drive! Remember to bring lots and lots of water, as the surface temperature of the sand can reach up to 50 degrees celcius.

The Sands

	From the trailhead we first hiked to the Devil's Punch Bowl. The estimate of 20 minutes/km is correct, since you're literally walking on loose sand up and over hills.
	The trailhead - note that the path is sand. The vegetation is only slightly blanketing the dune and is primarily creeping juniper and evergreens.
	The sign again - just because it's so weird to be hiking near a desert in Manitoba.
	Over time the open dunes have become increasingly smaller, as vegetation slowly establishes itself in this arid place. This is what a more established landscape looks like.
	A chuck wagon that can take you on a tour of the spirit sands; however, we opted to walk.
	The board walk to the Devil's Punch Bowl.
	The Devil's Punch Bowl. At first we were disappointed, but then we thought of the oddness of water appearing from nowhere in the desert. The water has an eerie bluish cast and wells up from an underground source to form a small stream.
	The boardwalk continues...part of it is a floating raft over the little lake. The lake's source is the Devil's Punch Bowl.
	Leaving the Punch Bowl behind, we take the trail parallel to the dune face. This area is a mixed-grass prairie, with bunches of 2-ft tall trembling aspens. The air literally hums with crickets.
	Entering the dunes...what a change in vegetation!
	A flower in the desert. One of the first plants to colonize the dunes.
	The dunes stretched out before us as we started the trail loop on the dune face.
	This trembling aspen exists on the edge of the dune face. It is less than 2-ft tall.
	The dunes are rather large. Fun to slide down but not so fun to climb!
	Dune-scape.
	Blue grass in the desert. This is a tall-grass that can reach 2 meters in height!
	The transition zone between desert and scrub.
	Scrub land.