March 2026.
Walking Sands Rest Area, New Mexico.

On our journey back to Fargo in March, we happened upon a rest area that immediately struck me as a future “Cellpic Sunday” stop. We pulled off northbound I-25 at mile marker 167, between Socorro and Albuquerque. The unique shelter architecture behind the Walking Sands Rest Area (also known as Sevilleta Rest Area) caught my eye, and climbing the stairs to the viewing platforms revealed the surrounding sand dunes.

Looking east, I found my composition—a lone desert shrub sat at the crest of a dune, framed against the pale sand and blue sky. In the distance, the Los Pinos Mountains rise above the valley, with Chupadera Peak just visible on the horizon. In researching this post, I learned that the broader views of the dunes are actually from the southbound side of I‑25. I’ll have to make a point of stopping there on a future trip for a follow‑up Cellpic Sunday.

Near the parking area, a large placard tells the story of the Rio Salado Sand Dunes. The nearby Rio Salado (“Salty River”) drops dry sediment that the prevailing winds sweep across this stretch of the desert. Over time, those winds have pushed the sand northeastward, piling it into the low, rolling dunes that line the valley floor.

About the photos: I used my Samsung S25 Ultra with the Expert RAW app to capture DNG files, which I processed in Adobe Lightroom Classic. The ultra-wide rear camera’s automatic exposure at ISO 40 (f/1.9, 1/3500 sec) delivered a wide depth of field and a completely noise‑free image. For the featured photo, I straightened the composition using the Auto setting in the Transform tool, cropped it to a 16×9 aspect ratio, and finished it with the Adaptive Color preset. You can view the metadata and the photos in 2K HD in my Flickr gallery here.

We are on our annual autumn road trip; today’s post is scheduled on a driving day. Feel free to comment, but I may be slow to respond.

I invite fellow bloggers to join in by creating their own Cellpic Sunday posts. There’s no set theme. The first rule: your photo must be captured with a cell phone, iPad, or other mobile device. The second rule: link your challenge response to this post or drop a comment here with your link so others can find it. And remember, despite the name, there’s no penalty for sharing on a day other than Sunday.

John Steiner.