Been there. Dune that.

“We’re dunin’ it!” we yelled as we had the time of our lives and the unique experience of flying down a huge sand dune on a sand sled. I had heard of being able to sled on the Great Sand Dunes but I didn’t realize how vast this sand field was and how worthwhile it would be to climb to the top. We headed out to the largest dune field in North America early since the sands can reach a temp of 150 F in the afternoon sun. We rented dune sleds from the Great Sand Dunes Oasis just south of the park entrance. We park our RV in the dunes parking lot and crossed the Medano Creek – which is just a trickle over the sand in the summer – to make our way to the base of the dunes.

I wore my hiking boots since I knew the trek up the dunes would not be easy. I was glad I did because often times my feet sunk into the sand up to my ankles. My mom made it to the base of the dunes and watched as my husband and I made the hour-long 600 ft climb up the first ridge of dunes. We paced ourselves and took frequent breaks knowing our Iowa lungs weren’t conditioned for a rigorous trek At this altitude.

We finally reached the summit and were afforded a great view of the Sangre de Christo mountain range and the sweeping untouched dunes beyond the ridge. We then waxed up our sleds and made 4-5 good runs back down to the base. We gained some good speed on those things. We used our GoPro and got a couple good videos. I had a nasty wipe-out and subsequently sand got everywhere! Today I’m still blowing sand out of my nose but it was totally worth it.

Big beetle on my husband’s shirt at the top of the dunes. Amazing that it can live up there.

When we finally reached the bottom about 2 hours later we convinced my mom to do a small run and then walked back to the RV to get some lunch. The sand was starting to get hot and several kids in flip-flops were yelling in pain as they tried to climb out of the dunes. I poured the sand out of my boots and decided to shower since I was covered in so much sand.

After lunch we cooled off at the visitor center and watched an informative video on the area. We then set out on 2 short hikes to get a different perspective of the land. Behind the visitor center was the Sand Sheet Loop Trail which had signs that were unreadable as they were bleached by the sun. We tried to avoid the cactus and sharp brush that nipped at our ankles. It gave us a nice sweeping view of the dunes.

Then my husband and I trekked to the Montville Nature Trail as we battled a swarm of hungry mosquitos at the beginning but as we climbed higher we were afforded a light breeze that swept them away and gave way to another beautiful view of the dunes backed by the mountains.

Unique wildflowers paved the way.

After our dune adventure we headed into the town of Alamosa to run some errands at Wal-Mart and play cards at the local coffee shop.

We meandered back to our campsite, Base Camp RV Park, and cooked up some brats and sweet corn for supper. I really enjoyed our campsite with the great open views of the San Luis Valley and 2 nights of magnificent sunsets. We even got in a good RV-washing to remove all the bugs we picked up in South Dakota. I love how this mountain weather cools down at night so we could enjoy nice meals outside and campfires at night. I do not love how this high altitude increases the pressure in all our bottled goods. This past week I’ve endured several sputtering splashes of ketchup, mustard, shampoo, conditioner and even Krazy glue.

We have 2 more parks to explore in Colorado before we check out the beauty in the state to our west. Since the beginning of this trip, I have been most looking forward to the parks in Utah and am excited that we’ll be there next week!