I suppose that normal people think about White Sands and think about, you know, the white sand.

But these picnic shelters always come to mind: I can remember these exact shapes from my childhood visits to the dunes and I’ve seen vintage photos of them fairly often. Their shapes remind me of the gentle slopes of the dunes, which are of course constantly shifting, but still keep their sinuous shapes.

White Sands National Park, New Mexico
photographed 12.13.2025