In a Land of Shifting Sands

---

If you think you need to travel to the far reaches of Africa to experience sand dunes, you would be mistaken, but certainly not alone. If anything, our travels thus far have firmly cemented the notion that adventure and discovery can indeed take place in your own backyard. After a fantastic evening with our friend Joseph and his girlfriend, exploring bookstores downtown Denver and trying out new "hip" vegetarian dishes (seitan buffalo wings anyone?) we continued south towards Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, a relatively unknown area of geographic interest that only recently achieved national park status. Rising abruptly from the flats of San Luis Valley and tucked against the ridges of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, it is a relief to see them but their size deceives our sense of distance and it is at least another hour before we pull into the park and just in time too, as we hadn't seen a gas station for most of the day and were nearly running on fumes.

The dunes lie atop a former lake-bed and owe their existence to a perfect combination of wind conditions. Winds funnels down from the mountain passes and meet opposing winds blowing across the valley floor, causing the sand sheet left behind to rise vertically, the tallest of which is 750 ft high and the largest in North America. Mountain streams ebb and flow under and around the sands, keeping the interior fairly wet, enabling the dunes to remain fairly consistent over the years. It's an amazing site to behold and nothing like we expected to find in the middle of Colorado, a state not exactly synonymous with great big piles of sand.

Naturally it's already fairly late into the afternoon by the time we reach the campsite and get settled in. That seems to be a trend lately. There are clouds threatening on the horizon and no sooner is the tent up that it starts to sprinkle. The rain is at first inconvenient and delays our exploration of the area but would later be a blessing in disguise. At least in the meantime it's keeping the mosquitoes and dust down. We head out towards the amphitheater to listen to one of the ranger presentations on local plants and their historic uses. Ethnobotany is a huge fascination of mine, but to my dismay the only plant mentioned is yucca and we already knew a good deal about that. But still we listen, seated on plastic trash bags to keep our pants dry, as the ranger passes around artifacts (some real, some casts) of spear points and mammoth bones found around the area. Nothing has been found within the dunes themselves due to the erosive forces the sand has over time. Were one of us to wander out there and die, in ten years hardly anything would remain as bone, cloth and even glass would eventually become part of the dunes themselves. Only the polymers of a sturdy hiking boot might survive....a comforting thought.

The storms clouds build and soon we're watching as bright flashes of lightening strike and arc their way over the dunes as thunder rolls in the distance. It's too dangerous to venture out during a storm of this nature because the sand tends to attract the lightening, so its an early night as the winds and rain become heavier. We wake early to see the sun rise over the mountains; the early morning light casts harsh shadows along the crests of the dunes. Where the sun hits, the sand sparkles like millions of tiny crystals. We begin hiking up the exposed faces of dunes which are rapidly heating up. Lasts night rains left the dunes compact on the windward side, making it incredibly easier to hike up the steep faces, but as the day progresses and the sand begins to dry and soften, giving way beneath our feet, we start slipping backwards with each step. We exert twice as much effort to move half as far. When we finally reach the crest we are rewarded with an expanse of sand which has remained cool in the shadows. Exposed sand can quickly reach 140F by mid-day, so having the opportunity to take our boots off and sink our toes into this figurative ice-bath is a treat.

I feel like a desert exploring hiking in the great depths of a continent even though it's only an area 30 square miles. But we're not alone. Though it appears quiet and barren, there is life in these dunes after-all, and not just of the tourist variety. Kangaroo rat and coyote tracks appear sporadically in the sand, evidence of last nights hunting pursuits perhaps? The kangaroo rat has the unique ability to obtain all the water it needs through the metabolism of grasses and seeds, allowing it to live solely on the few patches of blowout grass and scurfpea, whose long roots allow them to tap into the water table, anchored into the dunes. There are also seven endemic species of insects, mainly beetles. We did happen upon a giant sand camel cricket, which was once thought to be endemic, but was later found to live in other sandy areas throughout the region.

It's pretty amazing how hot and thirsty you can get after only a few hours. Getting down was a lot faster than going up, and a lot more fun! Nothing like skiing down the dunes on your own two feet. The rest of camp has woken up by the time we get back. Time sure gets away--we must have been up there for a few hours at least. Children are splashing around in what little is left of Medano Creek and some teenagers provide some great entertainment with their (failed) attempts to sled down the dunes on plastic tobaggons. Federal law prohibits the removal of sand and other artifacts from the park, but it certainly is practically impossible not to track a whole pile of it back with you in your shoes. We pour as much out as we can in the parking lot, but try as we might there's going to be some sand in the floorboards of the car whether we like it or not.

Hot and sweaty from our mornings adventure, we say goodbye to the dunes and pop open an (overpriced) can of cold soda before we hit the road, heading west to wherever the road takes us.

---

Photos

Great Sand Dune
Early morning light along the crest of a dune with the Sangre de Cristo mountains in the background.

Come back Andras!
Distances can be deceiving on the dunefield.

Stephanie on the Dunes
What hikes up, must slide down...

Ripples in the Sand
Created from the rainstorm that blew threw overnight.

On Top of the Dunes
Not just a self-portrait of us on the dunes. If you look, you can see a patch of scurfpea and other desert grass tucked behind a dune, and Medano Creek off to the left.

Life in the Desert
Apart from some coyote tracks, the only other evidence of life was this little sand cricket.

Sand Dunes in the Morning
With the San Cristo de Sangre mountains in the background.

Medano Creekbed
The creek formed from winter snowmelt was already starting to dry up by the time we arrived in last June.

Morning Shadows on the Dunes
Couldn't decide if I liked the photo better in color or b/w.

Comments

[capsfan2002]

Great Pics
I was in Colorado last fall and thought about going and seeing this park but finally decided I didn't have the time. Wish I had!

[Joseph]

I remember that day!
Thanks for the mention in the post! I didn't think that vegetarian buffalo wings were too hip, but they sure are tasty. Oh, Watercourse... And those are some phenomenal pictures. You could be a photographer on the side, Stephanie - not to mention a writer to boot. Amazing. Thanks for keeping me updated with your travels!

[Tisha]

amazing pictures. Love the dailog Wish I were wish you