Two Miles and Four Feet from Home: Great Sand Dunes National Park

Well as usual a great nights sleep even with a few trains roaring through. We got up about 6:30 had breakfast, showered and had all of our stuff packed by 8. We said good-bye to Amarillo and finally head to the Great Sand Dunes NP. Our GPS said it would take about 6.5 hours. Over all not too bad. We hit the road and really spent quit a few miles on very desolate highways. It was very peaceful driving. The speed limit was 75 and would remain that way until you hit a small town and and then back up to 75. This was repeated time and time again for about 4 hours. Finally we hit a major highway and also started to climb in elevation. We had hit some very steep roads and finally they were so steep that the Prius decided it could only go about 45 mph with the payload hat it was carrying. We gladly got over in the right lane and settled into the climb. Until now the Prius has talked everything like a champ and still getting over 35 mpg even with our heavy load. We had plenty of company in the slow lane so it really was not that bad. After several long climbs we were rewarded with a little bit of downhill and the Prius seemed to enjoy the break. About 12:30 we stopped at another great rest area and had lunch. We do have this part down to a routine so in a matter of minutes we can have Jasper walked and lunch made. Delicious with a great view. We could not ask for more. Finally after about 6.5 hours of driving we saw the sign we had been looking for Great Sand Dunes National Park next right. We turned and in about a mile or two we were entering the park and taking our picture at the park sign entrance. When we got to the actual park entrance we bought an annual pass for $80. This will allow us to go in as many parks as we want for the next year. This will be the second pass that I have bought in the past three months. Now you may be wondering why would I need to buy two passes……..Well that is the part I hate to admit but I left my 1st one at home. I was sure that I had put it in the glove box but after digging through it was not to be found. I even had a picture of the first one and showed it to the ranger but unless you had the original you would not be going in the park. He was actually super nice and sad the pass was good for two people and if I only signed the first line then after we got done with our last park we could sell it to some one else and they could use it the rest of the year. So…………. Have I got a deal for you!!! Come see me mid August and you can get a deal on slightly used annual National Park card that still has 10 months left on it. :) Even at double the admission price I would have to say our view of the dunes with the mountains in the back was well worth the price of admission. We drove past the dunes and headed for the campground. It was only about a mile down the road. As we turned in to the campground we were greeted with a little camp store that claimed to have over 400 items and kids riding bikes and people just generally having a great time. The campsites were awesome in just about every way. Lots of trees and plenty of room between sites. Ours was especially nice with stone walls and a terraced camp site. We got out and set up camp and then headed to the dunes. By now it was already around 6 pm but we had to get a peak before we had dinner and called it a day. We drove down to the dunes with Jasper and started walking towards them. First we had to walk across a shallow creek that was caused by snow melting at the top of the mountains. After that we had to walk across a big sand field to get to the dunes. The further we walked the further they seemed to be so we took some pictures and decided to climb them the next day. When we got back to the parking lot and they had an area to wash off. So we rinsed the sand off and headed back to the campsite for a very special July 4th meal. Lyn and I had decided ahead of time to celebrate Jsper's 9th birthday. We had never celebrated it before and just randomly picked the 4th. Anyway Jasper had no idea and did not see this coming at all. We had the usual July 4th fair cheeseburgers corn on the cob etc….. We also had a red white and blue scarf, birthday card and various other goodies for Jasper. We even had pecan pie for dessert yum yum. Jasper loved his burger, pecan pie and even seemed to enjoy his card that Lyn read to him. Wow what a full day! Tomorrow we will climb those dunes and see what else this park has to offer. But for today at only 9 PM we hit the sack and called it a night. The temperatures where supposed to get into the 50’s so it should be a great night for sleeping. About 4 am I woke up and it was pretty cold. We zipped up the windows and made sure Jasper was covered up.He was already to get up and by 5 we were out the door starting our day. I built a fire and at 6 cooked breakfast. It seems crazy to be up so early but even at that time the campground is showing signs of waking up. Besides it was 7 am in Greensboro so we are still adjusting to the two hour time difference. We went to the visitor center at 8 only to find out that their new hours had them opening at 8:30. We followed a trail that went around the back of the building and saw two beautiful things. A great view of the dunes and an electrical outlet on the back of the visitor center. We do not have electricity at the campsite and our phones and batteries are suffering the brunt of it. As luck would have it the outlet worked and we hooked up both phones and my computer to charge while we walked a half mile trail that was beautiful and informative with little signs at every turn explaining what you were seeing. Finally the visitor center opened and we checked it out and got the lay of the land. Somehow I had gotten a headache and we decided to ride into town to try to find WiFi and restock some of our supplies. The town was called Alamosa and was about 30 minutes away. We found a local cafe and had some coffee while sitting outside with Jasper. We just sat and relaxed and slowly my headache went away and we decided to explre the town. It was really cool and had kind of a run down 50's vibe to it. We had lunch at local brewery then after a quick stop to safe way headed back to camp. Finally after a quick nap we headed down to the dunes. This time we climebd all the way t the top of the first dune. The view was awesome. It really made a difference. We took several pictures and just hung out watching all the sights. Finally a storm started rolling in complete with bolts of lightening. This did not deter most people but for us it was our sign to head back. We finally made it back to the campsite and had dinner. The storm threatened and we put most everything up so it would not be wet when we left tomorrow. We were abut ready to call it night when the storm seemed to break apart. We got the chairs back out and built a fire. Wow it is amazing how the weather changes so quickly out here. Tomorrow we are headed in the direction of the Arches National Park in Utah. It is about 6.5 hours away. I am not sure if we will make it there or not. We have no reservations so we can stop and go as we please. Anyway that is it for tonight! zzzzzzzzzzzz