The Great Sand Dunes National Park is in south central Colorado nestled against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. They are the tallest sand dunes in North America. The Great Sand Dunes cover a 30 square mile area and are up to 750 feet tall. It was only a 2 hour drive from Pagosa Springs, Colorado.
Great Sand Dunes National Park
The Great Sand Dunes were formed by wind depositing sand from mountain erosion brought by streams and rivers. The dunes also came from the sand left behind from a huge lake that disappeared a long time ago.
It was first established as a National Monument in 1932 to protect it from the potential of a concrete manufacturing business using the sand and from gold mining. Fortunately, it was a cool day, so the sand was not hot.
The Medino creek is shallow and must be crossed in order to reach the dunes. Sand boarding and sand sledding are popular. From the parking lot, there was a steady stream of people with their sand boards. A great workout since the sand was soft and loose making it difficult to walk on. Because the winds were over 20 miles/hour we saw some people wearing goggles.
We drove part of the four wheel drive only sand road, Primitive Trail, that goes to Medano Pass. It was nice getting away from the crowds. The sand was very deep in some areas requiring 4 wheel drive. We eventually turned around not having a shovel or wanting to drop our tire pressures to 20 psi to keep going.
Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge
Its a 11,169 acre refuge in the flood plain of the Rio Grande River. The area is known for large numbers of migrating birds, like Sandhill Cranes. It was a beautiful location. Some of the roads and trails were closed because of nesting.
We came across a herd of Elk in the distance. Afterwards, we ate lunch at The Rubi Slipper. Sandy enjoyed a pastrami, sauerkraut, diced green chili, cheese and jalapeño sandwich on marbled rye. Delicious.
