Park 4: Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO:  We left Santa Fe on Hwy 285 for the 172 mile drive to Great Sand Dunes National Park, about 35 miles northeast of Alamosa, CO.  It's difficult to comprehend the size and height of the dunes, the highest and largest in North America.  The 30+ square miles of dunes are nestled up against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.  This natural ecological system is comprised of rocky peaks, pine forests, grasslands, wetlands, creeks, and the dunes.  No where else on earth is this diversity captured in one ecological location. 

We struck out across the snowmelt Medano Creek with the intent to climb the highest sand dune at over 650 feet above the dune floor and a mile from the parking area, but climbing through soft sand and blowing winds at an altitude of 8,000 feet proved to be no small task.  With about 100 feet of altitude remaining to the peak, we quietly cried "uncle" to the dunes as we encountered the steepest and softest sand of the climb.  Perhaps another day....  The pictures don't do this park justice!

Odometer: 3215 miles.