Photography by Marilyn Price

Great Sand Dunes 2014


November 5 November 6

Thursday, November 6, 2014

I had decided not to set the alarm, so we got up shortly after sunrise. Morning light at the Dunes isn’t that great as the sun has to come over some very tall mountains before the light hits the dune field. So, we had breakfast, packed up, checked out, and headed back to the Park, arriving just before the Visitor’s Center opened at 9 am. The Visitor’s Center had the only working restrooms that we could find.....

Then back to the parking lot that accessed the dune field and off we walked. Our first surprise of the morning was that Medano Creek was damp, but not flowing! Talking with one of the rangers later, we decided that the water upstream had frozen overnight and the flow stopped. By the time we left the Park (about 12), the water was flowing again.

This time, instead of heading straight into the dune field (where everyone else heads), we walked west closer to the creek, keeping between the dune field and the grassy area where the rice grass was starting to anchor the sand. Walking here was much easier.

Marilyn shoots the dunes, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO Lone tree, dunes and Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO Lone tree against the dunes with San Juan Mountains in the distance, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

The photo on the left shows me taking one of the other photos in this set. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the dune field are in the background. The center photo shows a lone tree against the dunes with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the background. The photo on the right shows the same tree from the other side, looking west, with the dune field in the distance.

Rabbit bush among the rice grass, dunes and Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO The dunefield, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO Different colors of sand in the dunes, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

Three different views of the dunes. The photo on the left shows some rabbit brush among rice grass with the dunes and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the background. The center photo shows different patterns in the sand. The photo on the right shows some of the different colors of sand that make up the dunes.

Rice grass, dunes, and the San Juan Mountains, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO Ridge of a dune, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO Dunes, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

The photo on the left shows rice grass (which stabilizes the sand), dunes, and the San Juan Mountains. The center photo shows some of the patterns made by the wind just over the crest of a ridge of sand dune. The photo on the right shows dunes against the brilliant blue sky.

Marilyn approaches a dune, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO Large rock in the side of a dune, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO Dunes, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

The photo on the left above shows me approaching a dune from the more level ground. What had caught my eye was a couple of good sized rocks (6-8" across) near the top of the dune. It looked like someone had tossed them up there and the wind had erased all sign of their arrival. The center photo shows one of these rocks. The photo on the right has more dunes. The shapes were fascinating.

Patterns of different colors of sand, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO Patterns of different colors of sand, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO Dunes, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

These three photos show the different colored sands that make up the dunes.

And this area was a treasure trove of wildlife sightings. No, we didn’t actually see any animals, but there were lots of tracks and other evidence of life. We followed one set of tracks all over the place where a large bird (probably a raven) was chasing something through the grass. We never did figure out what he was chasing. The tracks, as we described them, stumped the ranger, too.

Windblown rice grass makes patterns in the sand, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO Bird tracks cross the ripples in the sand, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO Shadows of dead sunflower heads, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

The center photo above shows the bird tracks we were following. The photo on the left shows some tracks in the sand made by the wind moving the sand grass across the sand. The photo on the right shows the shadows of some sunflower heads on the rippled sand.

Grassy prairie, dune field, and Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

It was a fun morning stomping over the edge of the dune field. We returned to the Visitor’s Center about 10:30 to talk with the rangers, use the restrooms, and take the small nature trail near the Visitor’s Center.

The photo to the left shows the view of the dunes from this nature trail with the prairie grasses and other vegetation in the foreground.

Then we drove to the trailhead for the Montville Loop Trail, another short nature trail.

Dunes from the Montville Loop Trail, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO Dunes from the Montville Loop Trail, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO Dunes and Medano Creek from the Montville Loop Trail, Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

The three photos above show different views of the dunes from the Montville Loop Trail. The photo on the left also shows a portion of this trail. The photo on the right shows Medano Creek running along the base of the dune field.

Both nature trails were well worth the time to hike them and they were different from each other, too.

By then, it was nearly noon, so we headed back to Alamosa for a quick lunch at the San Luis Valley Brewery. Good root beer!

Then we headed home. There just isn’t any good way to head north out of Alamosa. That first 70-80 miles are straight as an arrow and the landscape just doesn’t change much. However, the rest of the trip home was nice. We had decided to return home the slower way, just west of the Front Range.

The traffic didn’t really get bad until we neared Denver. Since it was just after 5 pm, we got caught in commuter traffic... So, we treated ourselves to pizza and Bottingtons at BJ’s before finally getting home. We both crashed early.