There probably isn’t anything more relaxing than getting away from the crowds and walking around a lake in the mountains with no one else around. With temperatures heating up, we are enjoying hiking once again and the higher altitudes mean more comfortable weather. We really enjoy this trail, which is one of our favorites, as we are able to make it as long or as short of a hike as we would like. We went on a weekday afternoon so that we could avoid the crowds and truly immerse ourselves into nature.
Beautiful Mountain LakeWater on the TrailDown on the ShoreRugged SceneryLooking Down at the Lake
The trail is located about 20 minutes from our house and takes you past a couple of reservoirs. The first part of the trail is relatively steep, but then it somewhat flattens out. As we always say, you can’t go hiking in the mountains without expecting some difficult terrain. There are often people fishing in the lakes or sitting on the shore enjoying a picnic. It certainly made for a relaxing afternoon and a good way to start getting back into hiking shape. We are planning to get on a trail again this weekend, but this time we expect to choose a trail that we’ve never hiked before.
More Views than Just the LakeWildflowers are Starting to BloomWe Could Stand There for HoursBoulders Along the Trail
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.
Sand Dunes and Mountain PeaksThe People Give Perspective to the Size of the DunesThe Size can be DeceivingHiking the Sand 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).
First View of the DunesA SandboarderPeople at the PeakAt the Base of the Sand Dunes
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.
Walking to the DunesLike Walking on a Strange PlanetPrairie, Dunes, and Mountains
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.
The Struggle to Reach the SummitA Sense of ScaleLooking Away from the Dunes
Have you ever wished that you could stop time? For those of you who are old enough to remember, there was an old Twilight Zone show where a man has a magical stop watch that will freeze time for everyone but himself. There probably isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t wish we had our own magical watch, but obviously that is never going to happen. The closest thing that we have to stopping time is through photography, where we can capture a moment in time and relive it forever. One of the things that we enjoy is seeing photographs of water that was in motion, but has become instantly frozen in the lens of the camera. Seeing these images are probably the closest that we will have to stopping time, so until we find our magical watch, we will have to make the most of the time that we have.
Fountain in Athens, GreeceGeyser in IcelandFountain in Coroico, BoliviaWaterfall in BoliviaFountain at Piazza Navona in RomeTrevi FountainAnother View of Geysir Starting to Erupt
