Doug and I love to visit National Parks. Springtime, a year ago, we drove out to Colorado and visited three National Parks in that state. You may never have heard of the Great Sand Dunes National Park. I know we hadn't until we were planning the trip. But it's truly an awesome place, covering 107,000 acres in south-central Colorado.
As you drive down the long road toward the park, you begin to see the dunes in the distance; but it's hard to get the perspective of their size because they are dwarfed by the 13,000-foot peaks of the Sangre de Cristo mountains behind them. However, these dunes are up to 750 feet tall and go on for miles.
To reach the dunes themselves, you have to cross Medano Creek, which usually flows only in spring, due to melting snow from the mountain tops. Children and adults alike seem to love wading and playing in the stream almost as much as exploring the dunes.
But people find many ways to enjoy the dunes, too, including sliding down them on anything they can find that would slide over the surface of the sand. To tell you the truth, cardboard seems to work better than most of the manufactured sliding products.
Others just enjoy hiking and exploring.
And some just have to climb to the top of the tallest dune.
Great Sand Dunes National Park is just amazing. If you're ever in that area, we would highly recommend that you check it out for yourself. It's a great place "to behold the beauty."
Linda -- I am so excited every time I read one of your posts! You are so good at this!
ReplyDeleteYou may have told me about this park before, but seeing the pictures along with reading your commentary here make me feel like I've been there!
Good work, my friend. I'm proud of you. :)
Thanks so much for the positive feedback, Sandra. As for the Great Sand Dunes NP, it was just so unusual to see such an expanse of huge sand dunes so far from a large body of water and at the base of a mountain range. Unusual and beautiful.
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