So anyway - we made our way to the Sand Dunes which is actually a National Park in Colorado. It's unlike the sand dunes that I've seen on the west coast because it's formation is greatly due to the mountains that it rests against. Now, don't expect a lesson here because I didn't pay that close attention to the "How are sand dunes formed?" portion. They did have this cool thing though where I could crank a wheel and change wind patterns that would change the formation of the sand dunes - all in this little box. But I digress.
What's so pretty about this is the water runoff between the parking lot and the sand dunes. The current surges every 15 seconds so we had to time how we crossed this. And I read somewhere why the current surges but I didn't retain that information. So just trust me that it does and that it's natural. But we got our pants wet anyway.
This was our first glimpse of the sand dunes and we scanned the horizon for the highest peak and said "let's go there." We were determined to get some good grunting exercise in after the long drive. If you click on the picture you can see the small specks higher on the dunes which are people. We wanted to be with those people.
I took one look back at the parking lot (hard to see) before I ascended the dunes. It is so stinking beautiful here. But the Ranger did warn us that a thunder and lightening storm was coming and lightening WILL strike the sand so to be careful. Roger that. Reminds me of the movie Sweet Home Alabama.
This is me after we thought we'd reach the "top". There is no top there's just more dunes. But anyway, I had JUST seen a hummingbird before this picture was taken. So stinking random a hummingbird at the top of the dunes. I still wonder if it was trying to tell me something...
I really like this picture but I can't take credit for it - it was taken by Big D. That's me following her tracks along this ridge. We kept on walking these sand ridges and I had two songs in my head "Living on the Edge" by Aerosmith and...I can't remember the second one. I'm sure it fit though and I had just heard it on satelitte radio.
This is my attempt of a cool picture. 2nd place to Big D's but I like how she's standing with the swagger of Marlboro man looking into the distance with all that green behind her.
This is pretty much what it looked like at the top - dunes as far as the eye could see. It would of been really fun to spend more time up here and see how far we could go. Walking in the dunes was great exercise. The elevation difference did make it tough but we were determined.
Did I mention how stinking windy it was? I took a video (below) but you can barely hear me. I think early on you can hear my reaction when a bunch of sand blows into my ear. That really woke me up.
Where did we stay that night...Alamosa? Anyway, shout out to the brewery we ate at. We got the beer sampler and I seriously had the best Amber that I've ever had on these lips. I just can't remember the name of it. I'm 30 now, give me a break. I have a bad memory.
Memories of our 20s:
Krista: Just last year at 29 I climbed Mt. St. Helens with Big D. Climbing the sand dunes reminded me of trekking thru the ash just before we reached the summit. I also learned the hard way the importance of putting sunscreen on the back of the legs because sun does reflect off ash. Serious blister city. Serious.
Big D: The terrain here reminded her of her time at Biosphere 2 at age 22. No, she wasn't locked in. In any case, that is where the roots of her close college friendships started with "The Girls". And it's really the time in her life where she started to get serious about her life path and be an adult. Lots of reflections on these dunes.
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