16Apr19 Great Sand Dunes National Park

16Apr19

Woke to a beautiful morning and had the typically breakfast of oatmeal, banana nut bread, half a grapefruit and coffee. I made a lunch and packed it in my backpack. After I cleaned up I left the campsite and drove to the visitor center. I checked out the displays and video, then took the dogs on a loop trail just outside the visitors center.

Then I drove to the trailhead that leads to the actual sand dunes. To get to the dunes you have to wade through a small creek which was pretty cold.

I have a snowboard on top of the Roadtrek and in hindsight I should have taken it with me and tried some sandboarding. Even though I'm retired I still have this sense that I'm on a schedule and feel like I don't have time to do everything that crosses my mind. Actually I DO!

The thing that amazed me most about the dunes is how steep they were. It didn't seem possible that loose sand could support such inclines.

I picked out a high ridge in the distance and set that as my goal. It was a bit difficult to walk on the loose sand but I made it to the ridge without too much trouble. Once there I had the small lunch that I had packed Taking a different route I headed back to the trailhead.

After cleaning off the sand with the Roadtrek's outside shower I grabbed the dogs and went for a short potty walk. I then got back on the road and drove to Raton New Mexico where I remote camped at a truck stop.