We got up this morning and headed to the visitor center to grab info. on the park and learn a little more about it. We enjoy watching the videos at the various parks - gives us an idea of what each park has to offer and usually provides a glimpse of how the changing seasons provide different and various recreation opportunities.
So...we watched the video, looked at the displays,
and then went to the overlook that is right behind the building.
Uh...that's pretty cool. We've seen and been into a few canyons on this trip...this one is pretty unique.
There aren't a lot of hiking opportunities here. None of the "trails" into the canyon are marked and they really only recommend highly skilled hikers (who use topos and GPS to navigate) and advanced canyoneers venture below the rim. Ummm...nope...not either one of those. "Let's do the scenic drive and walk to the overlooks." "O.K." :)
Most of the overlook trails were short. We were happy to find that dogs are permitted on them. Gasp!
Short or not, they all ended in amazing views of the canyon and were touched by Fall's paintbrush.
One hike was particularly cool. It was along a ridge that provided views into the canyon, but also had views into the valley below.
It also had some cool trees.
Did I mention the park wasn't very busy? Dang the crowds!!
We planned on spending the day exploring the park and had already paid our camping fee for the night; however, it didn't take long to drive along the park road and stop at all of the overlooks. We headed back to the trailer for lunch, and on the way, we decided we could suck down some food, hitch up and be on the road and heading for Great Sand Dunes by 2 o'clock. And that's exactly what we did. Time is becoming very precious so it made more sense to bug out and forfeit our camping fee (I like to think of it as a donation to the NPS) and try to move along to our next spot.
The drive was short but scenic.
We arrived at Great Sand Dunes National Park just as the sun was setting.
Our spot wasn't ideal (the campground doesn't offer much in the way of big rig accommodations) but we managed well enough and were set up in our usual time.
I was surprised to see snow on one of the mountains...
...but even more surprised to see the size of the sand dunes. While I read that they were 750 feet tall, I just couldn't wrap my mind around it and seeing them blew me away.
After dinner, we took the Boys for a cold and windy walk under the full moon and gawked as the sand dunes shimmered in the moonlight.
So happy we decided to come here. :)
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