There. Deep in the hear of nowhere it sat. Just so, at an angle designed to carefully shield the sun. It rested jauntily upon the top of a dune, a splash of color in the other otherwise desolate landscape. Actually, it was the only splash of color there, apart from the white and the blue of the distant mountains.White Sands National Monument in southern New Mexico is a place like no other. Trackless, endless dunes of white gypsum sand stretch as far as the eye can see, and beyond. The solitude and the silence deep in the dune field is like no other, and the only sounds heard are those that you yourself make... and even then you are just swallowed up by the vastness. It seems that no matter how far you walk, how many dunes you climb, or how many times your feet step forward there is one more dune ahead of you. Perhaps that’s true, but there is, of course, the mountains in the distance to provide contrast.Being out among the dunes gives you, however, a deep sense of peace and tranquility. Intellectually, you know the dunes do not stretch forever, yet in your heart and soul you know that they must.For those who crave solitude, this is the place to be. Just don’t forget your umbrella.