Adrian remarked about how quiet it was when we arrived at Great Sand Dunes. Indeed, it was a nice respite from the noise of everyday life.
The Park itself is, as Elliot described it, "random." A long plain, leads up to mountains. But, in from of the mountains are sand dunes! Enormous dunes - so much bigger than the ones we're used to at Nag's Head, NC. When we saw the Dunes, it was pretty awesome. The realization that the tallest dune is higher than the St. Louis Arch was amazing. Had a great time watching the kids running around and jumping off the dunes.
The stars were amazing and everybody saw a shooting star (some for the first time!).
We had two great experiences: hiking to Zapata Falls (outside of the park) and climbing High Dune. Everyone's reflections -
Zapata Falls:
A - Awesome being able to go through the cave and climb up on the falls.
E - Climbed up by the falls and there was a guy taking pictures of us.
C - Rock-hopping in the creek up to the falls was fun. Adrian drove us back from the hike.
L - The hike to the creek was hot and buggy. Then it was really refreshing when we got to the falls; the water was cold, which made the air cool.
Ascent of High Dune:
A - Excruciatingly difficult, but we made it to the top. The way down was so much fun because we got to run down the way high hills, and it was a wee bit easier.
E - It was so helpful to have a guy coming down give us courage by saying it wasn’t as hard as it looked. It definitely helped us make it to the top.
C - It was brutal.
L - Was extraordinarily hard, especially . But when we got to the top, it was sooo fun. After a couple of tries, Lillian let out a beautiful scream of accomplishment.
It was a great kick-off to the National Parks. Next, Mesa Verde, CO.
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