Great Sand Dunes

Yesterday was one of the best family days we've had in a while!  It started out a little rocky, when Big Sister had a dizzy spell that we think was a symptom of altitude sickness.  We decided that John and Little Bud would go exploring while Big Sister and I stayed back at the motorhome to rest, but after an hour or so, she felt well enough to head out.  We thought we would take the day easy, but Big Sister was feeling better and ready to explore!  

We started the morning off at the visitor's center at Great Sand Dunes N.P., where the kids got their National Park Passports stamped and signed up for the Junior Ranger program.  They were given a book with activities to complete, which helped us to better explore and understand the park.  When we left there, we decided to drive the Medano Pass primitive road(at one point there was a sign that said "Point of No Return!" on it!!) that went along the base of the dunes and into the Medano Canyon.  We drove the jeep, but had to lower the air pressure in the tires to make it through the sand.  It was a beautiful and geographically diverse drive with lots of sand, cactus plants, streams, mountains, and pine trees.  Little Bud was so excited each time we had to drive through the steam in the canyon; driving through water must be extra thrilling to little boys :)

When we got back to the main road, we (and by we, I mean John!) aired the tires back up and decided to head back to the visitor's center where they had a program about the animals that live in the sand dunes.  After that, the kids turned in their completed Junior Ranger Programs and they took a pledge and were given a Great Sand Dunes Junior Ranger badge and shield, which they were super excited about!

It started to look like a storm was rolling in (one of the park rangers told us it storms almost every afternoon this time of year at the park), so we drove down the road a few miles to hike to Zapata Falls.  You have to hike up the steam and into a cave to see the falls, which was beautiful and amazing but the water was SO COLD (especially for us Alabama girls!)!!  Before we set out on the hike, we decided to offer the hiking backpack to Little Bud, who excitedly accepted (his little legs find hiking quite difficult).  He was happy and we were oh so happy to not have to listen to fussing and complaining during the hike; it was a win for everyone!

When we made it back to the campground, the storm was moving out, so we decided to try sledding the sand dunes.  The sand sled rental place is at the campground, and at first they told us that it wouldn't work well since the sand was wet from the rain, but then the manager came out and said if we wanted to go, she thought we could probably still sled in the damp sand, but she would waive the rental fee, just in case it didn't work.  The kids had SO much fun!!  The sleds probably didn't move as fast as they would have in the dry sand, but it was much easier to climb the dunes with the wet sand, so it really worked out perfectly.  The weather turned chilly and very windy after the storm, and we were all in light weight summer clothes, but the kids were having such a great time that they didn't complain about being cold. Little Bud climbed the dunes like a champ and after sledding with me a few times, he went on a few runs by himself!  We were so proud of him; the west is bringing out his adventurous side!!

The drive out was very challenging, even with the conveniences of the motorhome, but yesterday was perfect.  Exploring new places and making memories that we will carry with us forever is what it's all about for me. I'm so thankful for the opportunity that we have to travel with our kids.