I don't think the photos below do justice to the dunes and nearby Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Mind you, I don't like getting all sandy from visiting Pensacola Beach, but this was different! My motel room had a great view of the sand dunes and mountains. I enjoyed hiking around the dunes although I didn't climb the highest one. The park is at 8216 feet and the highest dune is another 750 feet. I was glad to trek around without being out of breath.
The dunes and late afternoon sun created lovely serpentine patterns of shade and light.
I loved the rippled sand patterns on the dunes.
The Visitor's Center can be seen at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mts. just to the right of center.
I had great luck finding three six-point buck mule deer out on the plains. I also got some interesting clouds in the morning.
Saw three or four female mule deer on the first day in the late afternoon.
The winds over night erased most of the footprints and the patterns you see are caused by the different types of grains of sand. I noticed when I was walking on the sand yesterday that their were different sized and colored grains. This sand is coarse by Pensacola Beach standards. After walking on it for an hour or so, I hardly had any sand in my athletic shoes. At Pensacola Beach my shoes would have been filled.
Lots of rabbit brush and goldenrod in bloom (much to the demise of my sinuses and allergies.)
The rabbit brush (yellow) flowers, sunflowers, and the purple asters were fantastic.
The lodge I stayed at during my visit is in this photo. It was just outside the park's gate. I had great views of the dunes from the rear patio and great views of the mountains from my front door.
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