Great Sand Dunes National Park

The Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado is one of my favorite places to hang out. I spent 5 nights there and experienced rain, sun, hail, lightning, wind, mosquito, deer, great tourists, and relaxation. 

Sunny day in Colorado.

The clouds added a special effect to the dunes.

The river does not run all the time but due to a large amount of snow last winter the river has continued to flow late into the summer.

In order to get to the dunes you have to walk across the river, or just stop and play in the river. The kids really enjoy it. This was 4th of July, I stayed in my camp.

Not a bad campsite for getting the last one in the park.

The deer were pretty friendly as I took down my tent.

Later I moved to this campsite and still had a great view. 

Variety is the spice of life!

You can ride horses into the sand dunes.

Deer were everywhere.

They enjoyed the shade as much as I do.

The river is amazing and I took hikes along it.

Early morning is a good time to walk the river.

6:00AM

Me and my shadow.

Even the parking lot was empty.

Sunset and the last sun on the mountains. This picture is from my campsite.

This one also.

And this!

A friend I met at the campground, Ryan.

Every day was another great view.

Hail stones the size of peas.

People playing in the river was like people going to the beach. Many people climbed the dunes, no thanks.

I had a great time, stop in sometime.

The Alpine Loop near Lake City, CO.

My trip to Colorado was fantastic and I was able to travel the Alpine Loop over two very high passes, Engineer and Cinnamon Pass. After the Forth of July the trail is very busy with 4-wheelers and Jeeps. I have wanted to travel the loop for years and finally hired a private guide to show me around. Here we go!

 The trip starts out on a nice easy road but don't be fooled.

The sights are fantastic. Can you see the tent in this picture?

How about now?

This is an old mining town high in the mountains. We had lunch there.

Houses in the old town, a ghost town now.

Another old house.

What do you think of this view?

In this picture you can see where avalanches have come down the mountain. The trees were wiped out. 

Lots of waterfalls and creeks.

Waterfall I walked down to.

You can see how the size of the stream changes from Spring to Summer due to snow melt. It is pretty slow in this picture but you can see how high it has been. 

Cinnamon Pass and no trees. I was above tree line where no trees can survive. It was a quiet day with very little traffic. 

12,640' above sea level. Cool!

What a great experience. I didn't get any altitude sickness due to having been in Colorado for several days before climbing to this altitude. 

Engineer Pass was the other pass we drove over at 12,800'. Lots of snow there. 

Lots!

There were a few others up there. 

Lots!! 

I came up that road.

Notice the dead trees in the foreground that are dead from beetle kill. The brown ones are standing dead and a fire hazard. 

So many great pictures up there and I will go back, maybe this Fall for the colors. 

I had a great time and love Lake City, Colorado. Look it up on the map and see how deep in the mountains it is. Put it on your list of places to go and you won't be disappointed. Happy Trails!