Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, Colorado

    We drove over our first high pass on this trip, just outside of Walsenburg, Colorado.  Our diesel truck pulling the big 5th Wheel did better going up steep grades, but we made it just fine and gained another 4000 feet in altitude.  The campground at the Great Sand Dunes is at 8000 feet - gasp!  We saw the "Spanish Peaks" as we drew closer to the park - stately, snow topped mountains.  But we were driving on a high plain - mostly sagebrush and cactus.  There were big vortexes of sand and dirt stirred up by the wind and once again we were buffeted around on the highway.  However, it was a short drive and we were in the park before lunch.
   I had reserved a campsite months ago and was delighted to see that it was as nice as it looked in the pictures on Reserve America.  It had all the good things: a great view,shade, a nice picnic table and grill, and plenty of space for the RV and car.  As we settled in to eat lunch we were amazed at the quiet beauty.  Lots of birds and small mammals in the brush.  It was so fun to stay in the park now that we have a smaller camper - our 5th Wheel would never have fit.
     The dunes are a natural wonder - the tallest in North America.  Most of the sand comes from the San Juan Mountains.  They back up to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and a couple creeks run down out of these mountains and across the bottom of the dunes.  It makes for a great, sandy play area and lots of kids were building castles and wading in the water which was only a couple inches deep today.  Other folks bring dune sleds and climb high onto the hills and slide down.  It seems like a lot of work at 8000 feet, but the younger crowd was having a great time.
     We put out our lawn chairs and sat in the warm sunshine enjoying the view until we were chased inside by a sandstorm.  I wasn't quick enough to close windows in the RV and we have gritty counters and floors everywhere.  Our windows are pretty much covered with dust as well.  We ate our dinner indoors away from the flying sand.
     Soon after supper the sun came back out and the wind died.  We hauled out the lawn chairs for an evening campfire.  It was a peaceful evening with a great sunset as the temps dropped down into the 40's.