Recommendations to protect lenses from sand

[LesinGVegas]

Greetings all, 

I am traveling to White Sands National Park and other southwestern U.S. desert sites in the spring.  The park rangers have reminded me of the need to protect my camera and lens from blowing sand, and their recommendation is to keep it sealed in a camera bag until I'm ready to use it.  Clearly that reduces some opportunities with critters in motion and quickly changing light.  Can you recommend an accessory that protects the camera and lenses so that I can have them at the ready when a photo opportunity is presented?   Thanks for your assistance. 

[John_SD]

I live in San Diego and shoot often in the desert and at the tidepools. I currently use a Hoya UV filter for lens protection. No issues with it and I never change lenses in these environments. 

[justadude]

I live near Lake Michigan beaches, and you can often find me on a sandy beach (in any weather, and any time of year) on a very windy day, often for hours.  I've had days where the sand is blowing to the point of stinging... and those days I do not take my camera out of the bag (why tempt fate?).  On moderately windy days with some sand blowing around, but not stinging at all, I have never had an issue from sand in the decades that I have been doing this.

The only advice I have has already been shared... don't change your lens, and don't leave your camera out of the bag if you aren't going to use it for a short time.