Destination America!: They're Not White

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. Swimming. Zapata Falls Swimming. Sandboarding. Swimming. Sand Sledding.

We drove over a beautiful pass called Wolfe Creek Pass from Pagosa Springs to the San Luis Valley. Stopped off the side for a quick hike to a waterfall in the National Forest.

After a few hours drive we arrived to our new site.

We wanted to visit the Great Sand Dunes National Park, but the choices to camp nearby were not great, so we ended up at a place called Sand Dunes Swimming Pool and RV. We had read all the reviews so we knew it was going to be in the middle of nowhere, but it was such an odd place. Out in the middle of nowhere, several geothermal pools, few RV sites, a few cabins, tent area, and an amazing view of the Sangre de Cristo mountains.

As soon as good weather was available we headed off to the park.

The whole time we have been calling them the Great White Sand Dunes, but it wasn't until we were about to enter the park that I realized that the tan/brown mass of sand up ahead of me was where I was headed and it wasn't white.

After visiting the dunes in New Mexico, we assumed all were white :). The girls played in Medano Creek, which is all the melting snow and ice from the Sangre de Cristos.

The dunes depend on the creek, mountains and the winds. They were formed from a volcanic eruption to the west and the ash was deposited in the San Luis Valley, It sat at the bottom of the lakes that used to exist there, but as the climate changed the lakes dried up, exposing the sand/ash to the whipping wind and was pushed up against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. That is where is sits today and is the glimpse we get in it's timeline. It doesn't sit still though because the wind is so strong at times and blowing the sand so hard that it bites your skin and make you feel like you have to squat down to stay in place. The rushing water in Medano Creek acts like a sand trap, catching the sand once it lands taking it downstream to be lifted up by the wind back to the dunes.

After the creek we headed up to the top of a high dune. We started with skipping and jumping and ended on the way down with crying. The sand was blowing so hard that Luna got some in her eyes and couldn't open them. If you look closely in the picture below you can see Sofia toward the left side going down the dune and Luna is the tiny black dot to the far right of Sofia. It was so steep coming down I had to sit on my butt and scoot park of the way.

Sofia and Luna WAY ahead of me coming down the dunes.

We couldn't get enough, so we returned on the weekend with Diego and rented a sandboard and a sled. Made for the SAND :). After crossing the freezing water we waxed our boards and took off. Very fun!

Luna took in some sand on the way down.

Zapata Falls was a drive/hike that the girls and I did one afternoon. Bumpy drive up the mountain with a nice hike that ends at a creek. That looks like all there is at first but after crossing the creek at several spots we found her. An awesome waterfall tucked back behind the rock. Most of it was still frozen and could have been why it took a little time to find it back there. Such a cool find though. Beautiful.