THE Traveler: Deborah Grunnes of Minneapolis.
The scene: At White Sands National Monument, near Alamogordo, N.M., 275 square miles of desert holds the world's largest gypsum dune field. Here, the photographer's husband traverses the sands.
The destination: Grunnes has visited White Sands several times. "We took our kids when they were small and have fond memories of climbing the dunes near the parking area," Grunnes wrote in an e-mail. The day she took this shot, she and her husband had planned to hike, but wind was gusting to 30 miles per hour. "We thought we were prepared with our hats and scarves to cover our faces, but for me it was too difficult." On less windy days, families use the dunes as sledding hills. Ranger programs include musical performances and guided hikes.
The shot: "I started walking back to the car and turned to snap a picture of my husband. The sun and the reflection of the white sand made it impossible to see what I was shooting, but I was more than pleasantly surprised when I was able to see it! The ripples in the sand, the footprints, the blue sky and the blowing sand above the dunes are all visible," she wrote. Grunnes captured this scene with her Samsung Galaxy S6.
More Viewfinders: See more reader travel photos at startribune.com/viewfinders.
Share your photos: To submit your travel photo for consideration to Viewfinders, share it on Instagram tagged with #STtravel, or e-mail a jpeg to viewfinders@startribune.com.
