We headed south and then west toward the Sangre de Christo Mountains. The boys had been asking when we would finally see big mountains. We climbed steadily in elevation, making our already bad gas mileage abysmal. As we climbed and rounded a bald-topped, cone-shaped mountain we entered a gorgeous, green alpine stretch that opened up into the broad San Louis Valley. The temperature had dropped to a nice 71 degrees.
Leaving the valley, we drove through the sand sheet and grassland approaching Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. Although it looks arid and inhospitable, it supports lots of wildlife.
After driving 136 miles and about 3:15 hours we arrived at our first planned destination. We were a little early and got to pick a great spot that backed up the a spectacular view of the Dunes.
We decided not to climb the great Dunes that afternoon since it was getting warm. Instead we decided to look for the Medano Creek, a seasonal snow-melt creek that comes down from the surrounding mountains. Since it had been a dry year, the Medano Creek already had a very low flow. We walked quite a way along the dry creek bed at the base of the Dunes to search for some water. There were lots of deer tracks in the creek bed. As we continued we noticed the sand becoming damp, then wet. Ethan dug down about a foot and found water pooling below the sand. Finally we discovered the “end” of the Medano Creek trickle. We took off our shoes and followed the creek upstream. In a quiet, scenic spot at the base of a dune, we stopped to relax. The boys changed into their swimming trunks and played for hours in the shallow creek. Esther, Liam and Ethan attempted to climb the steep dune. The sand was almost too hot as about half of the grains are black. We got about 1/3 of the way up and decided to come back down. We alternately scooted and ran down. The sand made lots of grunting and squeaking sounds. Liam later decided to climb to the top of the dune at about 500 ft tall. It took him about ½ hour with many rest stops to get up. William was worried about him being so far away with the heat and the difficulty of the climb. If Liam needed help, we could not quickly get to him up the dune. William finally decided to climb up after him. Esther was a little worried for both of them at the base of the dune. Finally Liam reached the top and looked like a speck from below. William had made it about 3/5 of the way up. Together they slid and ran back down. Liam was very thirsty but otherwise just fine and proud of his major accomplishment.
It was time to head back to the camground, another 2 miles. On the way we stopped to help a guy and his family who had gotten stuck in the deep sand on a rugged road. They were transporting about 50 car batteries in the back of his pickup, way too much weight to make it through that loose sand and up the hills.
After some scenic backcountry hiking we finally made it back to the campsite with aching feet and tired legs. We ate a late bratwurst dinner and watched the two competing views, the sunset over the dunes behind us and a thunderstorm over the mountains in front.
We saw deer and 2 fawns, lots of chipmunks, a hummingbird, lots of insects including the Great Sand Dunes Tiger Beetle.
The Davids' Cross-Country Trip 