The Great Sand Dunes National Park

 

We spent Monday until lunch time playing at the dunes where we met up with Keith’s sister and her family. The kids had a great time playing in the dunes. The kids tried sand sledding. It didn't go as well as we hoped but they managed to find it fun. We watched several serious sand sledding families. They have a system of making it work using lots of wax and better sleds. 

 There was so much sand all over us. I can't even begin to tell you how much sand can fit in a toddler's diaper, but it is a LOT more than should be possible. By lunch time the dunes get very hot so getting out as early as possible is the best way to experience the dunes without getting too hot. Once the sun gets higher in the sky the wind picks up and the sand begins to blow fiercely.

From the parking lot to the dunes is about half a mile or so of walking in deep sand. This is far more physically taxing than it appears. There are no signs mentioning this and we saw many people ill prepared for the long walk. Bring plenty of water and I suggest a large golf umbrella. The umbrella is a welcome break of shade from the sun. I suggest sunglasses and hats too. 

 We spent the remainder of Monday traveling Southwest to meet up with more family. I took a few pictures of our campground, Rustic Rook. We stayed at a glamping type campground. We were glad to be able to skip the steps of setting up camp. This made for a much better experience for us. It took a lot off of us planning wise to not need to factor in camping gear for this long trip. Not having to bring extra gear saved precious car space for our trip. There were sturdy canvas tents with beds as well as restrooms with showers. It was a good site with plenty of things for the kids to do. I was excited to have the option to pre-order a dinner pack that we grilled in their picnic area. Having the food was a huge help since this national park is really far away from stores, as in 2 hours away. This park being so far away meant the views at night were spectacular.