Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

You really have to want to see this place to go to the trouble of getting there; it’s off the beaten path in the southeast corner of Colorado. The drive from Breckinridge offered different topography and more wildflowers than we had seen elsewhere so the time passed quickly, but even when first catching a glimpse of the dunes, there are miles to go before reaching them. They sit against a mountain range with eerie visual impact that only increases as you walk through the grasses, cross the riverbed at its seasonal trickle and stand on the hot sand at their base to gape. It’s an alien world, and those little black dots seen here and there are hikers and sand surfers undertaking moonscape sports. Clouds casting shadows change the landscape and make the dunes look particularly dramatic, and they must be spectacular at dawn and dusk, and when the river runs high and the cottonwoods share their color.Rain teased us as we left the park, and we finally aimed our compass towards home.