Great Sand Dunes National Park - Who Knew?

Maps of Colorado and Utah are splattered with the green shades representing National Parks, Forests, and Recreation Areas. Reviewing the paths one could take between Kalamazoo, Michigan and Seattle, Washington all that green is a big draw. A particular spot of National-Park-green in southern Colorado caught my eye. The tiny script read "Great Sand Dunes National Park". I had never heard of it. A good enough reason to go in my opinion.

These dunes in Alamosa, Colorado are the largest in North America. 750 feet tall! Found at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains the dunes maintain their large size through recycling. Every year winds blow sand off into the mountains. Each spring as snow and ice melt the sand is given an express trip back to the base of the dunes. Two creeks run along either side of the enormous sand piles thus a constant supply of material is available for the wind to throw back in.

Woo! Look at all this recycling!

I was really hoping to be able to go dune sledding or dune boarding during our visit. Unfortunately because my mom and I were visiting on a Sunday during the off season there was no place to get gear. I didn't even have a cardboard box I could use! It was a shame.

Regardless! The dunes were incredible! We walked out onto them and hiked a while on the tallest. There is a bit of a knack to dune walking. The windward side of the dune about a foot or two from the edge seems to have the hardest packed sand.

A beautiful day at the park

Packed sand would sometimes form designs 

A hiker at the top for scale

We spent about an hour exploring the alien landscape. We could feel the altitude of the Rockies in our heavy breathing but it was the wind picking up that drove us off. Strong winds on a dune is like a sand blaster to the face. Back at the car all of my head mucuses were working overtime to clear the sand from where it didn't belong (attractive right?). I could still shake some sand out of my hair that evening. 

Until next time!