Great Sand Dunes

From Wikipedia – The tallest sand dunes in North America, up to 750 feet (230 m) tall, were formed by deposits of the ancient Rio Grande in the San Luis Valley. Abutting a variety of grasslands, shrublands, and wetlands, the park also has alpine lakes, six 13,000-foot mountains, and old-growth forests.

• Established: 9/13/2004
• Annual Visitors: 442,905
• Size: 107,342 acres

Great Sand Dunes National Park, Friday September 11, 2020

To all that were affected by the tragedy 19 years ago on September 11, 2001, I send you virtual hugs and smiles.

This post is long because, well, I like to record what we’ve done and experienced for our own records but also to share with those of you that like to travel vicariously thorough us!  I thought I would touch upon our experiences re: traveling with restrictions still in place due to COVID and we stayed an extra night in Durango, CO so this journal covers two days.

The EconoLodge in Durango was clean, friendly staff, but a small room. It was $80 plus $10 per night with the dog. The room had a fridge, microwave & coffee maker. In Durango under $100/night is really good. The hotel was walking distance to a public park on a walk/bike trail close to and along the Animas River.  A note about how things are in hotels/motels these days …so far, all the hotels have given us a to-go breakfast if breakfast was included. The days of waffles and hot coffee are still to come back. Some breakfasts have been given to us in a paper bag (bottled OJ, bottle of water, food bar, a danish and a piece of fruit). Some hotels have it laid out , same menu as above, and you bring it to your room and others you need to ask for what you want and they will pass it to you through a plexiglass barrier at the front desk.

Rangeley is doing really well after one evening of Altitude Sickness the night before last. He’s back to playing and being his normal pesky puppy self. He was ready to continue his adventures this morning ; ) We are being sure to not over exercise him and give him plenty of water…more than he even drinks in Phoenix, due to the high altitudes we are experiencing.

More Re: COVID and our experiences so far…AZ, NM and CO require masks in all indoor public places and people are abiding by the rule. There has been reduced indoor seating at restaurants just like at home in Phoenix but we are not going inside anyway due to having Rangeley with us. We are doing take out and leftovers; grocery stores and have our toaster oven and a propane grill/stove. Hot, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies hit the spot in our room that never got above 65 degrees while it was literally frosty outside. The hotel only turns on the whole building’s heat in October.

We are happy to see how many travelers and locals are out and about. Mountain biking millennials from TX; National Park couples from So. Carolina; hunters from AR; truckers rolling through; locals on vacation and employees off to work. Applebee’s had a 45 min wait for the dining room last night! And ‘Help Wanted’ signs are everywhere. We loved Durango’s outdoorsy small mountain city vibe.

Car travel packing was unknown to me before this trip. I have rearraigned a few times, as I suspected I would. We’re getting a system down. Unloading and loading back up, in and out of the hotel every night or two, takes efficiency, team work and skill – all while avoiding a wiggly 4 month old puppy trying to escape the room for fear of being left behind each time the door opens! We did talk with our adult boys before leaving. They have done a lot of car travel between short trips through the state of AZ to crossing the county a few times. So far we really like the Rubbermaid style bins with tops (roughly 15″×15″×24″) for all the dog’s treats, chews, toys, vitamins, long line, extra leash, pick- up bags, cleaning supplies, etc. And another houses non-perishable foods, utensils, fry pan, 2 plates, 2 bowls, paper products etc. Extra water is in a 7-gallon camp style plastic container with a spout. Small “Rubbermaid” bins the size of shoe boxes contain basic tools, gloves, etc. We have a small foldable table and two collapsible chairs. And a bag with snacks at my passenger side feet and our water bottles filled up at all time beside us. The dog crate and cooler, our carryon size suitcases and all the above mentioned, add to our overwhelmingly appreciative decision to rent a minivan!

We drove through the San Juan Mountains in Colorado, part of the Rocky Mountain Range and over Wolf Creek Pass crossing the Continental Divide into the Rio Grande National Forest. All the snow that fell in the past two days (Alamosa’s high country got 14 inches!) was beginning to melt at 40 degrees when we reached 10,850 ft. late morning. But there was plenty to play in!! See photos of Rangeley’s first experience in the snow! The sun was out and Gary and I loved our short walk into the wooded wonderland.

I have placed a link to a news report about the record-breaking snow storm in over 130 years! Records

We stopped in downtown Alamosa and ate on the patio at San Louis Brewing Co. They are dog friendly and I had a Smores porter, yum!

After traveling 190 miles from Durango to Great Sand Dunes National Park we were all ready to play! The snow-capped forested mountains behind the vast baron sand dunes was quite an odd and beautiful sight. See pictures attached. We walked up into the dunes watching people skiing down the sand; photographers setting up tripods and children with buckets and shovels as if they were at the beach! This park’s 33,000+ acres of dunes are about 440,000 years old and are North America’s tallest dunes. Basically, they are made by northeasterly winds blasting through the mountain passes.

It was amazing to walk on warm sand, Gary only wearing a tee shirt and Rangeley digging to his heart’s content just a couple hours after we were in foot deep snow in the forest! We finished with a short walk into the wood across the street from the dunes and followed a stream enjoying the last of our tour of Great Sand Dunes National Park.

We are staying at a Days Inn in Alamosa and will be headed back over the continental divide to Curecanti National Recreation Area tomorrow. Then Sunday will be Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park!