Chuck and I decided to have a little mini-adventure before he heads off to the Appalachian Trail for most of this year (I'll be joining him periodically, but unfortunately, I can't afford the full time off from work. It's a new goal to be in a position where I could potentially do that). We picked a place that neither of us had visited previously - The Great Sand Dunes, in the southeast corner of Colorado.
We set off on a Friday afternoon. The drive down was sunny but uneventful. We reached the park about 20-30 minutes before sunset. The sand dunes appeared out of nowhere. One minute nothing, and then all of a sudden you see these undulating mounds of sand with twisting lines and shapes. I had pictured something like the vast images of the Sahara that you see in movies. However, this sand was the color of a nice latte and was not so much a flat expanse as a myriad of small hills and valleys.
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| The Great Sand Dunes |
We spent the night camping in what looked like part of an old rock quarry in the middle of land owned by the Bureau of Land Management. It was cold!!! Below 20 F. But, we survived (despite the howling coyotes we heard in the middle of the night), and I figured it was good practice for the Appalachian Trail.
Saturday morning we were up and off to the park. It was snowy and overcast. We stopped in the visitor center and learned about how the dunes were formed as well as what kinds of plants and animals live on and around the sand. But mostly we stopped because there was a bathroom there and the ranger at the park entrance promised free hot drinks!
Finally we were off to the dunes themselves. What an amazing place! It's almost like being on another planet. There were so many interesting patterns and formations in the sand. We hiked around for hours, and I loved every minute of it.
Around 2 p.m. the sleet started to come down, and so we called it a day (and actually a trip). Here are some of my favorite pictures from our adventure!
Saturday morning we were up and off to the park. It was snowy and overcast. We stopped in the visitor center and learned about how the dunes were formed as well as what kinds of plants and animals live on and around the sand. But mostly we stopped because there was a bathroom there and the ranger at the park entrance promised free hot drinks!
Finally we were off to the dunes themselves. What an amazing place! It's almost like being on another planet. There were so many interesting patterns and formations in the sand. We hiked around for hours, and I loved every minute of it.
Around 2 p.m. the sleet started to come down, and so we called it a day (and actually a trip). Here are some of my favorite pictures from our adventure!
