Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

June 19, the Great Sand Dunes National Park

We leave Colorado Springs in the course of the morning, heading south to the dunes of the San Luis Valley. Unfortunately, we are on Saturday and the park campground is already full as we arrive around noon. We find a site at the Great Sand Dunes Oasis RV Park, close to the park entrance. The place is less picturesque but the overlook on the dunes and the valley is pleasant.

The violent winds of the San Luis Valley have piled sand for millennia to form this strange sea of ​​dunes. Behind the dunes, we can see traces of snow remaining on the mountains of the Sangre de Cristo (el. 4000 meters).

We tackle the dunes at the very end of the afternoon, just to enjoy the evening light. We will need more than one hour to reach the summit of High Dune, 2 kilometers and just 200 meters high! We will not have courage enough to walk to Star Dune, the highest dune in the park.

Walking is strenuous in a very fine sand and under a strong wind. The sand seeps everywhere, even in the mechanisms of cameras whose lenses will be noisy still for long. But what a sight! The sun plays on the dunes and sand ripples whose ocher tones make contrast with the deep green mountains.

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