Road Trip: Great Sand Dunes National Park - Part 2

We headed back to our camper after our visit to Zapata Falls. We would be leaving the next day, and I would miss having this view.



My cousin Eric is staying in Colorado, and he was kind enough to drive over and join us for our trip. And after dinner that night, Eric and I decided to head back out to the park so we could try hiking to the tallest dune before sunset. It was an optimistic plan, and we only made it about half-way there. Hiking on the dunes is a lot harder than you'd think.



Walking on sand dunes is a lot like walking on snow. Sometimes you can walk atop the sand just fine, others your foot will sink several inches and nearly disappear into the sand. If trying to go uphill, you will oftentimes start to slide right back down as soon as you plant your foot. It was exhausting, especially because the dunes are at an elevation of about 7,600 feet. For a comparison, the elevation in Little Rock where I am writing this right now is a measly 470 feet.



We hiked up as golden light hit the mountains above the dunes (which rise to an elevation of about 13,000 feet).



The dunes here began forming about 400,000 years ago.



Water from receding glaciers flooded the valley, creating streams and lakes. The water also brought down a lot of sand and sediment from the mountains, which was then blown by the predominant winds towards the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.







The dunes are huge, the largest in all of North America. For a sense of scale, you can see how small the people in the pictures are.







Before starting the hike, we drenched ourselves with bug spray in a feeble attempt to keep the mosquitoes at bay (which worked a little bit). Another hiker walked past us, who clearly didn't have any bug spray. He was surrounded by a cloud of mosquitoes, and he looked miserable. We tried to kindly offer him some of our spray, but he nervously declined (he may not have been an English speaker so he may have thought we were trying to spray him with some mystery chemical, who knows). I felt bad for him, but he did distract some of the mosquitoes that had been pestering us all evening.



At sunset we stopped hiking and sat down to enjoy the view. It was a great experience, even if we had to share it with a few mosquitoes.







We started the hike back to the parking lot, and luckily it is much easier to hike on sand going downhill. It was almost dark by the time we made it back to the car. I took off my hiking shoes and they were completely filled with sand. I turned them upside down and a comical amount of sand dumped out. And luckily we saw the other hiker who had refused our offer of bug spray, so thankfully he survived the hike and wasn't carried away by the mosquitoes.

The next morning we woke up and started packing up our stuff in the camper. Our time at the dunes was ending, and it was time to check out. It seemed like it was about to rain, and the clouds hung low over the mountains. I ran over to get a few more pictures of the dunes under that dramatic sky before we headed out.







I'm sorry there are so many sand dune pictures here. It's such a neat park that it was hard to stop taking pictures.





OK, one last picture. This was a panoramic shot of the dunes as they stretched out across the valley.

Road Trip: Great Sand Dunes National Park - Part 1

We stayed at the Great Sand Dunes Lodge, which sits just outside of the park boundary. The lodge offers a few old campers, which have been fixed up and are available for rental. We stayed in one, which was cute (if a little pricey). But you couldn't beat the view. From the window of our camper we had an outstanding view of the dunes.

So after checking in and unloading the car, we had enough time to make a quick visit to the park. We hurried in, as the mountains around us were bathed in evening light.



The Sand Dunes really are Great. The park contains the tallest and widest sand dunes in North America, with the largest reaching a height of about 750 feet. It is a really neat and scenic park, with the dunes sitting right at the base of the majestic mountains of the Sangre de Cristo Range. A shallow creek that is fed by snowmelt runs beside the dunes. We parked and crossed the creek (which was just an inch or two deep). But we weren't the only ones there. Apparently for a brief period every summer, the creek gets low enough to form stagnant pools. Which, of course, brings swarms of mosquitoes. As luck would have it, we were there right in the middle of mosquito season.



We strolled out to the dunes as the sky lit up for sunset. Jonah ran around trying to decide which of the dunes he wanted to sled down the next day. All of us, including our new mosquito friends, watched as the sun sank behind the dunes for the day.



Before sunrise the next day, I woke up and headed out to the park. I wanted to get a picture of the morning light hitting the dunes with the mountains in the background. I managed to leave the camper without waking anyone else up, and remembered to bring the camera and tripod. But I forgot to bring something vitally important - the bug spray. I parked at a small overlook and opened the door and was immediately attacked by a cloud of mosquitoes. My arms, legs and face were an easy breakfast as I tried to set up the camera. The only thing that would keep them at bay was to be in constant motion. So while I waited for the light to change on the dunes, I walked in circles around the camera, the car and the overlook. If I stopped to adjust the camera, however briefly, the plague of mosquitoes would descend. I ended up with this picture, and then hurried back to the refuge of our camper.



Back at the lodge we had breakfast (luckily the mosquitoes weren't so bad up there). I looked out the window and the light on the dunes was perfect, so I rushed out to get a picture. It's amazing how the subtle difference in light can change the appearance of the dunes. 





One of the most popular activities in the park is to go sand-boarding or sledding. So we rented a board from the lodge and then made a return trip to the dunes. Riding a board down the dunes is a lot of fun, but you have to be careful. If you wipe out, you will end up completely covered in sand. Your hair will be coated with sand. Your shoes will be filled with sand. Anakin Skywalker would hate it here.





It's hard to appreciate the sheer size of the dunes unless you see them in person, or try to climb to the top. People attempting to climb the dunes started to look like tiny ants going up a hill.





I'm not entirely sure why, but the mosquitoes left us alone while we were out there (maybe because it was getting to be the middle of the day?). But it was starting to get hot. There is hardly any vegetation on the dunes, and no shade. So on sunny days it gets really warm out on the sand.



But luckily there is a waterfall that is conveniently located just outside the park, perfect for cooling off. More on that on the next post....