Road Trip: The Great Sand Dunes

July 2, 2015

Thursday was a moderate driving day.  We had to make it from Mesa Verde to La Veta, CO, a distance of roughly two hundred fifty miles.  We drove through Durango and Wolf Creek Pass with stops at Chimney Rock National Monument and Great Sand Dunes National Park.

Chimney Rock National Monument, CO

Chimney Rock

Chimney Rock National Monument is an interesting monument.  It's not run by the Park Service, it's run by Forest Service and staffed by volunteers.  They provide guided tours of the remains of Indian villages on the hilltop.  Having spent the day at Mesa Verde and having had our fill of guided tours, we decided to pass and kept on our way.

Pagosa Springs, CO

Treasure Falls

We stopped for some quick photos at Treasure Falls near Pagosa Springs.  We were too lazy to take the short hike up to the waterfall, sticking to photos near the parking lot.  The clouds above our heads continued to darken as the drive went on.

Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel -- Pagosa Springs, CO

Wolf Creek Pass was a particularly striking section of highway.  It began to rain on us there off and on.  We wouldn't experience a dry day for the rest of the trip.

Wolf Creek, CO

The rain started coming down in buckets when we reached the Great Sand Dunes.  Now, I don't mind a little rain here and there, but this rain was coming down in cold, hard drops.  We couldn't make it out to the sand in that storm, so we took a few photos and headed on to La Veta.

Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

Soundtrack:

• Black Keys --
• Whiskeytown -- Faithless Street
• The Beach Boys -- Smile
• Van Halen -- 1984
• American Music Club -- Mercury
• Neil Young -- On the Beach
• The Baseball Project -- Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails