Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado

On June 4, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Colorado6 Comments

Located about 30 miles outside the town of Alamosa in Colorado, the Great Sand Dunes are a fascinating feature that has been created by nature over thousands of years. The giant sand dunes sitting at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains highlight the diversity of habitats in southwestern Colorado, which ranges from wetlands, prairies, mountains, and forests. The sand dunes seem oddly out of place, it is almost as if a piece of the Middle East was scooped up and dropped in the mountain valley. The reality is that they were created after a large lake dried up thousands of years ago and the wind drove the sand to the base of the mountains.

The People Give Perspective to the Size of the Dunes

Although this year the mountains did not receive a lot of snow and therefore the runoff was minimal, usually there is a river or stream running at the base of the sand dunes, making the contrast even more interesting. One of the good things about the stream not being there was that we didn’t have to get our feet wet in order to get to the base of the dunes, but the bad part was that it was even more sand to walk through in the heat of the sun. It is not easy walking in the sand and even harder walking up the steep sides of the dunes. They may not seem as large from the distance, but the actual peaks of the dunes can be as high as 750 feet (230 meters).

As more and more people visit the dunes, one of the most popular things to do is to bring a sandboard and go sandboarding. People will spend hours climbing to the top and then boarding their way back down. Just to reach the top is difficult, so to do it over and over again in order to shred the sand is a real achievement. It also means that you will be surrounded by plenty of crowds as people flock to the area. There is camping nearby and you will find and endless array of motorhomes and RV’s. Since it is a national park, you can expect to pay $20 per vehicle to get into the park, which is good for seven days.

It took us about three hours to drive from Colorado Springs to the Great Sand Dunes, but it is well worth the drive. We hadn’t been to the sand dunes for over twenty years, so it was also a little bit nostalgic for us as we remembered bringing our young children there to play in the sand. We only spent a couple of hours at the sand dunes as climbing the hills is very exhausting and hard on the legs. Even though we were walking in the Sahara Desert only a few weeks ago, visiting this unique place in Colorado was really something special.

Sampling Food in Colorado Springs

On February 21, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Colorado, Food, Recipes3 Comments

There are a variety of restaurants in downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado, which means you can find something for any taste. Most of the restaurants are independently owned and each of them has its own unique style. We were only downtown for a day, so we only had time to visit a few locations. In order to maximize our experience we went to a Colorado themed restaurant, an Irish pub, and a seafood restaurant.

Historic Building with Jack Quinn’s Irish Pub

Our first stop of the day was at Colorado Craft Social, which was serving Sunday brunch. We ordered the Green Chili Cheddar Biscuits with eggs over easy. As always, we shared our meal as it was definitely a lot of food. As a bonus, the meal came with a free mimosa to help start the day out right and they also served a lot of local Colorado beers. After eating our fill of comfort food, we walked around the downtown area to enjoy a sunny day in Colorado Springs.

In the afternoon, we headed to Jack Quinn’s to listen to some authentic Irish folk music and enjoy a pint of beer and some chips and dips. Chips are obviously the same as French fries and it came with two dips, one that was a curry dip and the other was somewhat similar to a thousand island dressing. The building that houses the restaurant was built in the late 1800’s and is part of the historic downtown district. It was hard to leave the wonderful ambiance of the pub, but we needed to head back to our hotel for some warmer clothes as the temperatures drop quickly once the sun goes down.

For dinner, we ended up at Bonny and Read for an upscale seafood experience. After a half dozen oysters, we shared the Yellow Tail Snapper. It is served whole with a lime ginger sauce and coconut rice giving it an Asian flare. Although we don’t usually like to have to filet our own fish at the table, it certainly tasted wonderful. With all of the wonderful choices to choose from, downtown Colorado Springs certainly is a great place to go for a night out.

Downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado

On February 19, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Colorado2 Comments

Colorado Springs has a lot to offer visitors. There is Garden of the Gods, the Air Force Academy, Pikes Peak, and Manitou Springs, just to name a few. Downtown Colorado Springs has much to offer as well, with many restaurants to suit a variety of tastes plus the Pioneer Museum, Colorado College, and the Fine Arts Center. We decided to spend a couple of days downtown to enjoy many of the things that this small city has to offer.

Colorado Springs is the second largest city in the state, but it isn’t a large city by any means. It still has a historic feel and wonderful views as it sits at the base of Pikes Peak. One thing you can’t help but notice when walking around the downtown area are all of the statues that can be found on almost every block. One of the more interesting statues was of a western couple dancing that actually spins in a circle mimicking the motion of the dance.

We stayed at the Mining Exchange, which is a Wyndham Hotel and is centrally located in the heart of the downtown area. A block away is Tejon Street, which is the main street to find small boutique shops and many different restaurants. We popped into several of them, but one of our favorite locations was Jack Quinn’s Irish Pub, which has live Irish music on Thursdays and Sundays. It was a great way to spend a couple of hours, having a pint and listening to some authentic folk music.

Colorado Springs is a perfect location to launch your Colorado adventures as it provides easy access to the heart of the mountains and is centrally located in the state. It is also the home to the United States Olympic Center and proudly calls itself Olympic City, USA. With so many places to visit near the heart of the city, it can be busy during the heart of the tourist season, which is from May to September. We are happy to call this city home, but don’t always explore it as often as we should.