Chapter 01 / 07
August 29, 2026 · New Mexico
White Sands
The journey begins in a landscape that barely looks real.
I arrived late enough for the dunes to change color in front of me.
The trip began with a flight from Houston to El Paso. Picking up the rental car came with a small hiccup—the first vehicle they gave me was not properly equipped—but everything worked out. I drove away in a white Jeep, my companion for the road ahead.
Before leaving El Paso, I stopped for lunch at El Taquito. The food was inexpensive, authentically Mexican, and absolutely delicious: exactly the kind of beginning I wanted. From there, I drove through the desert toward Alamogordo, checked into my hotel, and slept for a while before continuing to White Sands.
I reached the park at around 6:15 in the evening. The landscape was extraordinary: white dunes rising out of a vast, flat expanse, with a dark line of mountains in the distance. Sunlight and shadow moved across the gypsum, making the dunes seem to change shape as I watched.
At first, I felt slightly uneasy. Signs warned about how easy it can be to lose your bearings among the dunes. I made sure I had water and everything else I might need, although I wished I had brought a compass after reading that phone reception could be unreliable.
Soon, the worry gave way to the place itself. I took a short walk, rested in the shade, then kept moving until I found a dune with a clear view west. The desert became quieter. The heat loosened its grip. The surface beneath my feet held ripples as precise as lines drawn across paper.
The sunset was incredible. I recorded five uninterrupted minutes as the sun disappeared behind the mountains—an attempt to keep the moment from rushing past. For a little while, that was all there was: light, sand, distance, and time.
I stayed after the sun had gone, walking and taking photographs as the white dunes moved through softer shades of blue, silver, and rose. The landscape I had entered less than two hours earlier seemed to become another one entirely.
Eventually, I drove back to Alamogordo and went to bed early. The road trip had started, but White Sands already felt like more than a first stop. It felt like an opening scene.