great sand dunes national park

great sand dunes national park

When Paul told me that he'd booked a weekend at Great Sand Dunes National Park, I wasn't as enthusiastic as I generally am about family camping trips. Firstly, I hate sand. I hate the way it feels, the way it tastes, the way it smells, the way that it invades every space no matter how tightly sealed or snuggly packed; I just hate it. The only sand I've ever liked is the sand on any Hawaiian beach. It's just different somehow. If you've been to one, you know what I mean. Other than Hawaii, I like rocky beaches, like Croatia. The other reason that I wasn't overjoyed was that he'd booked it for August. Going to the Great Sand Dunes in August brought to mind images of Death Valley: hot and dry. This turned out to be a misconception. Great Sand Dunes National Park is at 8200 feet, so it was cooler than here at home.

The first issue, sand, was not as bad as it could have been. Our campsite was sand free, nestled in a grove of low growing conifers surprisingly close to the Dunes.


our campsite

Also, my time in the sand was limited as Paul happily climbed the highest dune (700 feet above the river bed) in the morning while I watched Tim play with the other kids in the camp sites around us.


paul's morning walk


the boys


happy campers

When he returned, we stayed in the camp where the boys were happy to play and visited the visitors center until the afternoon heat dissipated. Then we walked about a half a mile to the river bed. I only had to walk in the sand for about 100 yards. I hated every step and complained incessantly. Tim loved it and Luke was oblivious. Paul pitched a shelter for Luke and I to hide from the sun while he took Tim to the lowest of the Dunes.

the river is still running, under the sand, which is slightly damp. in the spring, it's a proper river.


tim enjoying the sand


impressive

I could hear Tim's squeals of delight as he run full bore down the dunes. He didn't want to leave and still asks to go back. The sand was what some people would call gorgeous: clean of debris, soft as silk, and ankle deep. Yuck.

Our view of the night sky was spectacular and we enjoyed some star gazing after the boys went to sleep. We both saw the same shooting star, the longest and most brilliant I've ever seen. Maybe it was a meteor, part of the Perseid. I don't care if I never walk on the Great Sand Dunes again, but I'm very happy that I got to do it and very appreciative of my ever-enduring husband.




an afternoon snooze