Playing in Medano Creek, although not for long because the water was pretty cold.

Alex digging in the sand on our "beach" along Medano Creek

Taken from the looking near the entrance to the park. I can't believe that after living in Colorado 15+ years, this was my first visit to the Sand Dunes. It's an amazing place, and a place we will absolutely come back to visit again.

We were pretty much blown right out of Great Sand Dunes NP on Saturday, and felt pretty defeated as we headed back to the hotel in Alamosa. After taking a swim, we decided to check out a different spot and hope for less wind. It ended up being a lot longer trip, but we eventually found the spot after almost an hour's drive. This is the Rio Grande River, just North of the New Mexico border. It was very windy here, so didn't stick around too long....We did finish the night at an American classic, Sonic. Good (but greasy) food and desert.

After crossing the creek, this was my view looking up. I decided to veer to the right, away from the highest dune, so that I could find some solitude...I soon realized that finding solitude in the dune fields is not hard to do.

Sunshine on my shoulders, makes me happy....

The dunes changed colors with each cloud that passed by....

Untouched Beauty

One of the many lonely dunes that I walked past on my way up to the ridgeline. These dunes are constantly changing from the wind...The lines created from the wind are spectacular, and I realized when looking at this dune that I could spend days just wandering through this area.

Sand dune framing Mt Herard

Once I reached the ridgeline, I was rewarded with views of never-ending dunes and the Sangre de Cristo mountains to the North. Mt Herard is the tallest peak on the right, and dominates the scene at Great Sand Dunes National Park.

As I continued climbing up, I'd stop periodically to take a look around and shield myself from the wind and sand bullets. This picture was taken looking back at my starting point on the other side of Medano Creek. The clouds were casting shadows across some of the dunes, making for some really unique photo opportunities.

The family photo at Great Sand Dunes NP. As you can see from Niko's hair, there was a stiff wind!

Mom and Alex in the creek. It was actually quite cold out due to the high winds and storms that were passing by.

Crossing Medano Creek to begin hiking the dune field. The small specks near the top of the tallest dune (along the ridge) are actually people who braved the wind for an amazing view.

The classic "minivan in the middle of nowhere" shot that we take on each road trip.