Dust Devils

As we were approaching Phoenix (this is a continuation of the photos from our travels out west recently) we saw a number of small dust storms, or "dust devils" above the desert on either side of the car. I took this photo from the window as we were driving.

We had been seeing signs warning that "Dust May Be Present," but these little whirlwinds posed no threat.

A few minutes later, we saw a gigantic dust storm. It covered the entire city of Phoenix and all its suburbs. (We read about it later on the national news). I was so in awe of the thing that I never thought about the camera again at all. It had definite edges, like an upside down rain cloud that has begun to rain. Shaped rather like a rounded loaf of bread sitting on the ground. We drove into it and the bright, bright summer sun simply disappeared from above us. We could still see the road and the traffic so it was never actually dangerous, but it was certainly interesting. Foggy, but so dry!