We arrived at Great Sand Dunes National Park in the middle of the night so our first view of the dunes was when we opened up our tent the next morning. We thought for sure we wouldn’t be able to get a site since they were first come first serve and we were so very late. But once again we were blessed with a camp site in the park.
We got to experience a real desert hike here. The sand on the dunes reach a temp of 120 degrees in the afternoon. We got a bit of a late start for a dune hike, but went on anyway. After all it was only 1/2 mile each way…
Scott chose a hike that he knew would have water so we could get relief from the heat.
Good call Dad.
The kids LOVED playing in the wet sand. It was a welcome relief after the hike. And a great place to set up a “base camp” for the dunes.
Scott and I took turns running on the dunes with the big 3 while the other stayed with the little man as he happily rolled around in the wet sand to his hearts content. We discovered the best way to run on the dunes was in our socks… it was way too hot for bare feet.
Unfortunately, our oldest child wasn’t feeling well this day. Not sure if it was the altitude or a bit of dehydration from the hike the day before, but he had a rough time on this hike. Truthfully, it was a hard hike. It was in the sand. In the heat. In the elevation. That walk back at 1pm was hard core.
But,the rest of us felt it was worth it to run on the dunes and splash in the water.
We refueled and refreshed ourselves afterwards with lunch at a nearby diner. We then set out to find showers!
wow! That picture of the three running down the hill seems to really capture what it was like! Looks like fun!
ReplyDeleteWOW!! That was a really tough day. You guys definitely deserved a break after that. What great pictures.
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