Legend-ary Cross Country Trip - Day 16 Our Last National Park

Odometer Reading: 3183 - 3393

Departed: Mesa Verde, Colorado 9 a.m.

Arrived: Great Sand Dunes National Park 1:30 p.m.

Overnight: Pinons Flat National Park Campground

Disclaimer: This is the part of the trip that I stopped writing my notes into readable form so I am mostly going by a very foggy memory.

Along the Way

Kenobi's tummy was feeling a little better as we made the drive across Colorado.  I had originally thought we would stop at Pagosa Springs and soak our feet in the hot springs but the construction was insane right down the center of the town so we decided to move on. Looking around from our orange barrel tour, it reminded me of Estes Park in Colorado. It's a cute little town with the hot springs and we made a note that we want to come back to visit at some point. Along the drive we saw two roadside waterfalls that I had also planned on stopping at, but I was so exhausted at this point and the traffic was busy and the pull off looked full so we decided to just drive by and look at them from the car.

As we got closer Bruce’s amazement was on full display as he saw what he thought was snow covered mountains and the realization that it was sand.  We had reached The Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado. We were shocked when we arrived at the road to the Great Sand Dunes National Park of how long the line to get into the park was. We had prepared ourselves along this long journey to expect long lines at the national parks.with being peek season.  Yet we never had more than two cars in front of us at the entry of any National Park we visited:  Indiana Dunes National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon or at Mesa Verde National Park. We had to park way back away from the sign in a non- pull-off area so that we could walk on the road to the National Park sign. We waited in line to get our picture taken at the national park sign for over 15 minutes and even then. We just couldn't figure out why it was so crowded, especially at the Great Sand Dunes National Park. It was when we pulled up at the pay window to hand over my national park pass when we discovered that it was President Donald Trump's birthday and admission into the national parks was free.

The crowds were also an issue when we wanted to go into the visitor center. We still had our trailer in tow and there was no place to park. So Bruce dropped me off so I could go in and stamp my passport and get an ornament. While I was inside, Bruce found some parking along the edge of the lot. He took Kenobi out for a little stroll on the trail right by the visitor center. The Visitor Center was insanely busy with customers. Bruce is the one who usually talks to the ranger but I thought maybe I would get some advice on what we should see or do. This is our first time and to be honest I did very little research on the Great Sand Dunes. The ranger was with another guest but I could overhear the conversation well enough. The ranger was explaining that there was a storm coming and to stay off the dunes. I walked outside just in time to hear a big rumble of thunder and looked to my left to see Bruce and Kenobi. Perfect timing. We went to the campground to set up and stay away from the thunderstorm which is extremely dangerous in the sand dunes. 

Our campsite was within the national park at Pinon Flats Campgrounds. We went directly to our site.  It was a nice big site with a big bear box for our outdoor supplies. The road through the park was a bit tight. Bruce adjusted the trailer to make the angle to back it into the site. There was a deer feet from his truck. Our setup didn’t disturbed him in any way, shape or form.  He just stood on the site licking the rain off of the table. Rain? We heard the thunder but never had a drop of rain. In fact on this trip, it hadn't rained once. From our campsite we could see the sand dunes in the distance. Knowing that tomorrow's drive would be a long one, we set up Obi in the trailer and drove back to the dunes to explore. 

I was still dealing with the tail ends of some pretty severe fatigue, but still this is the trip of a lifetime right. I can’t be there and not explore the dunes. Medano Creek, which runs through the flat sand bed and is often a partial reprieve for the hot blowing sand, was dried up due to drought conditions. So we began to walk across the ½ mile of flat sand to the dunes. At some point, I told Bruce to go ahead because I knew I was walking so slow and I also knew there was no way I had any energy to climb up any dunes. Bruce walked ahead and trekked up two or three Dunes. I pushed myself and was happy with the results of me actually climbing up to the top of the first dune. At the top,  I plopped myself down in the sand and watched Bruce like an ant in the distance. The dune field is 30 square miles. Since there are no real trail markers and signs in the dunes, I can't really tell which dunes we traveled to. The sand dunes were very impressive and just amazing to see. Who would expect to see sand at the base of the Colorado mountains? Once Bruce reached me we sat together just looking at the majesty of it all. Then it was time to make the hike back across the flat sands to the truck.  

Once back at the campground, we put Obi on his leash and hiked into the sage brush and dry creek bed with our chairs to have a wonderful view of the dunes and the sunset. The storm clouds created beautiful colors across the sky. After that we came back to our campsite to enjoy a cocktail while sitting around the campfire. It was actually chilly and I had to bundle up a bit which is shocking considering it was just a few stops prior that the temperature was over 100°. 

Wildlife: prairie dogs, deer

Trailer: The window shade on the driver side of the bedroom’s string broke and it lost its tension and was not able to be put up.

Reflection: I was exhausted at this point of the trip.  For the week or so after we returned home, I couldn’t pull many memories from the Great Sand Dunes National Park.  Once I rested and began going through photos, I experienced a wave of appreciation and wonder of the beauty and uniqueness of the United States that most Americans take for granted.  I want to see it all!! Or at least as much as I can to see God’s wondrous creations.