Great Sand Dunes

Big Mountain Beach

August 2nd was our last day in the state of Colorado and we finished with a "bang". If you can only visit one national park in Colorado, we would certainly recommend this one: Great Sand Dunes, the tallest dunes in North America.

The dunes are not at the sea though, they are surrounded by grass- and wetlands on one side, mountains on the other side and there's a creek running at the bottom of the dunes... all this creating a very amazing, strange and beautiful landscape.

We arrived at the park at 6.30 am (photography's golden hours do not allow you to sleep in) and immediately got a wonderful overview of the dunes. To top it off, some wildlife decided to strike a pose for our pictures.

At 7 am we started our hike in the dunes. We were lucky to have arrived so early since at noon, the temperature of the sand can run up to 60° C. Plus, the park's at 2500 meter altitude - in combination with the hot weather (30°C and up), we figured it was better to go hiking early morning. We didn't regret getting up so early - we were more than rewarded with the incredible views!

View of the creek crossing through the dunes:

At 9.30 am, we finished our hike but the rangers at the visitor center pointed us to another hike in the mountains. Continuing on our adventurous path, we followed the trail to an ice cold little river, which we had to cross for about 30 meters (damn you open toe hiking shoes!) - bringing us into a cave with an amazing waterfall. The picture doesn't do it justice at all - it was far more beautiful (although it might have been just an ordinary waterfall but if your feet are freezing - to the point of losing a toe - cold, you tend to appreciate things more).