Sunday, October 9, 2022

The Great Sand Dunes National Park in Fall



A distant view of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado as we drove up to visit them. They are the highest sand dunes in North America and quite an amazing sight to see!  The dune field encompasses 30 square miles (7.77 square meters) and at its highest is 750 feet (228.6 meters). This was our second visit to see them since moving to Colorado. Our first visit was in Spring and this visit was in Fall, both wonderful times of the year to view the dunes. My first blog post about our drive to see them in 2016 and our first impressions can be read on this link.  My part two blog post about our attempt to climb up a dune and also a video of the sound of the wind that was blowing across the dunes can be read on this link.




The dunes and surrounding area were designated a National Monument in 1932. In the year 2000, United States President Bill Clinton signed the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Act. The federal government purchased 97,000 acres of the Baca Ranch which tripled the size of the park and preserved the land and water drainage for future generations to enjoy.






Earlier, we had hiked to the top of nearby Zapata Falls --click here--to read that blog post, so it was already close to the closing hour of the visitor center, but we stopped in anyway.





There are wonderful panoramic views of the sand dunes from the visitor's center back porch.



The dunes are believed to be 440,000 years old in the high-elevation desert of the San Luis Valley at 7,694 feet (2,345 meters).  The dunes were formed by the right combinations of wind, water, and sediment. Creeks and streams brought large amounts of sediment and sand into the valley.  The wind then blew the sand toward the bend in the Sangre de Christo Mountains, where opposing storm winds helped squeeze the sand into the tall dunes seen today.  




Please click on the photo above to enlarge it.


We were surprised to see Medano Creek, which runs in front of the sand dunes was still running even though it was October.  In spring snow melt from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains makes this creek run strong 


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If you look at this YouTube--click here--from the National Park service you can see how the creek looks in spring--it actually has waves!



The size of the people standing in front of the dunes gives a better perspective as to how enormous they are!  Often visitors rent special sandboards from local vendors and slide down the dunes. You can learn more about that on this link.


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They are truly a wonder!

Recently, exciting news was announced that The United States Department of the Interior and The Nature Conservancy announced that TNC’s nearby Medano-Zapata Ranch will transfer 9,362 acres of land to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.




As we drove out of the park the slant of the setting sun gave the dunes a pretty golden glow,

We were happy to have seen them again!

 


My husband and I were staying in the town of Alamosa that night--it is about 30 minutes away from the Great Sand Dunes National Park and we had dinner at a newly opened Italian-style restaurant called The Friar's Fork that I read about in the Colorado Magazine 5280 at this link.  The husband and wife owners had worked for many top restaurants and resorts and wanted to open their own place. They found a deconsecrated 1926 Episcopalian church that had been empty for a couple of years, bought it, and renovated it into a restaurant and cafe. Our meal was so delicious!  I had the Chicken Marsala and my husband had a special, Beef Osso Bucco.  It was the perfect early anniversary celebration for us!

The next day we were headed south to the town of Antonito, where we had a reservation to take a ride on the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad, called by USA Today Magazine "The Best Train Ride in America"I will blog about that train ride next week.

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35 comments:

Rambling Woods said...

Beautiful scenery… I agree Pat. I hesitated to say how I really felt since my daughter’s illness. My blog used to be much more personal but I see your point. I am so sorry for your neighbors loss. There are no words of comfort for something that big..

diane b said...

Amazing topography for in the mountains. They are certainly huge dunes and sand boarding down them would be fun. The creek in the video was amazing too.

EricaSta said...

Wow ... what an adventure hiking between the dunes. Spontaneous I must think on the Film "Dune".

Thank you, Pat, for sharing this interesting post.

Happy MosaicMonday

eileeninmd said...

Hello,
Beautiful scenic views, the park is wonderful. I do enjoy visiting our national parks. The restaurant looks great, Happy Anniversary! Take care, enjoy your day!

Linda W. said...

One of the National parks I hope to visit in the future. Thanks for sharing your photos!

Tom said...

...wow, I've never seen such large sand dunes. They're amazing!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

That's a place that is hard to capture in photos but you did a great job. It really is mind boggling to see and try to walk around on!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I think I lost my comment but I love this post and enjoyed visiting that area when I lived in the West!

ellen b. said...

So weird and cool to have those sand dunes in Colorado! That restaurant really looks amazing. Yum...Osso bucco!!

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

Happy Anniversary! I love your trip to the Great Sand Dunes Park - lots of wonderful photos!

Joanne said...

These photos are fabulous; I particularly liked the one with the people so I could get a better sense of just how huge those dunes are. WOW!

Hena Tayeb said...

Oh wow.. that is gorgeous.

stevebethere said...

What a nice post and informative too I enjoyed all the photos thanks for the tour :-)

Have a dunetastic week 👍

William Kendall said...

An amazing landscape.

NCSue said...

Sand dunes in Colorado! I had no idea!
Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2022/10/tile-and-wood-work-at-sancar-turkish.html

Jim said...

Looks amazing.

Barbara at Mantel and Table said...

What a fabulous place - I love those gorgeous dunes and Your hotel is wonderful too! A lovely trip!

Janice said...

Breathtaking!

R's Rue said...

So beautiful.
www.rsrue.blogspot.com

Elizabeth@ Pine Cones and Acorns said...

Gorgeous place.

Angie said...

Pat - the shapes of the sand dunes are fascinating - they look so firm, but I suspect they shift regularly? I wonder about the use of the sandboards on a "protected" area - do they affect the dunes in any way?

The hotel and restaurant look like the type of places my husband and I would enjoy! Have a terrific week!

Bill said...

You captured the beauty of the dunes, they are so amazing to see. Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful rest of the week.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Oh Pat, those are the *best* pictures of the Great Sand Dunes I've ever seen. We have been there and really enjoyed the park and our hikes. But my pictures didn't capture the awe anywhere near as well. But not at eaten at that restaurant and not ridden on that amazing sounding railroad so I'll be looking forward to your next post. But I'm adding the link to my data base of "Great places Pat told me about." LOL, it's really called "Colorado places to vist", but at least half of them I saw on your blog! (Of course we'll never have time to visit everywhere we want to see, but it's fun to dream!)

Yvonne said...

Loved reading this, but I can't believe I lived in Colorado for 7 years, and traveled to all those towns around there, and never knew an area with sand dunes existed :(

betty-NZ said...

I had no idea you had sand dunes in Colorado! Awesome photos.

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

The dunes look like an amazing place to visit.

Tamar SB said...

Wow! Those are so amazing. Thanks for sharing.

Tamar SB said...

Wow! Those are amazing. Thanks for sharing.

Spare Parts and Pics said...

That combination of creek and dunes looks magical!!

Pisi Prkl said...

Whutta display by Mother Nature. I´m impressed.

handmade by amalia said...

Enjoyed the tour and the photos.
Amalia
xo

Klara said...

this is sooooo beautiful!

Lowcarb team member said...

What an amazing looking landscape.
I did enjoy your photographs.

All the best Jan

Michelle said...

What gorgeous views! I would love to take a train ride like this. Yes, I am back to blogging, but I am not commenting like I should. I seem busier than ever and my mind is elsewhere. lol

Sharon Wagner said...

This is so surreal. I have to visit this site someday. Great photos of the swirls and swoops!