Before I tell yous almost the park, I receive got a few pictures to grab upwardly on from the black nosotros arrived here. First, the KOA where we're staying has bunnies! Excuse me for merely a minute...Squee!!!
Sadie together with Smitty watched 1 nibbling grass merely exterior our door. They were inwards sneak 'em upwardly mode...at times alongside their ears lay flat. That bunny had no thought how lucky he was.
As the Sun set, nosotros were treated to merely about beautiful fiery skies. It looked dissimilar depending on which management nosotros looked. To the dorsum of our rig...
Looking to the rider side of our rig...
Looking up...
It merely got prettier together with prettier.
Day is done.
In the morning, looking out the other direction, nosotros saw a beautiful sunrise.
I was busy typing my weblog posts to grab upwardly on the calendar week nosotros were out of touch. Smitty was in that place beside me helping. Ordinarily, he's non allowed on the table, but inwards the pocket-size confines of the truck camper, nosotros cutting him merely about slack. It's the entirely sentiment he has looking out the dorsum of the camper, together with thence he's allowed upwardly equally long equally nosotros aren't eating.
Before taking off to come across the national park, I got a lay out on the fourth of the iv stitcheries I brought along alongside me. This is Farm Fresh Eggs from Bird Brain Designs.
It's a trivial worrisome having reached my terminal projection when we're entirely halfway through our trip. Fortunately, nosotros receive got a quilt store on today's agenda where I can, hopefully, marker a starvation stitchery if I come across 1 I truly need.
We drove into town for almost an hour. Mike wanted to alternative upwardly a decongestant. We've both been bothered past times the dry out air together with the elevation, but Mike has been especially poor alongside stuffy sinuses. We also stopped off at McDonald's for our honey Egg McMuffin. When nosotros finished our work concern inwards town, nosotros headed inwards the other direction, on our agency to the national park. We could come across the dunes out Mike's side of the truck. We tin ship away also come across them from the RV park.
When nosotros turned N on the route leading into the park, nosotros could come across the Sangre de Cristo mount range. This is the tallest peak.
Looking toward the front, nosotros had an fifty-fifty amend sentiment of the dunes. These are the tallest dunes inwards North America. If you'd similar to read to a greater extent than almost them, yous tin ship away visit the common spider web page correct here.
I tried to larn my customary film of the sign, but these people were rudely posing for their ain film inwards front end of everything. I'd hoped for merely about other chance equally nosotros left the park, but zip doing. It seems everybody wanted their film inwards front end of the sign.
The common was fairly crowded. It was Sunday, later all, but to a greater extent than importantly, a gratuitous day. As it turns out, September 15th is the showtime solar daytime of Hispanic Heritage Month.
We headed showtime to the Visitor Center, equally nosotros endeavor ever to produce when visiting a national park. For 1 thing, we're on the hunt for fridge magnets together with shot glasses. (When I state "we," I hateful "me.") Inside were merely about explanatory signs almost the area. I'll entirely present yous a few. This showtime 1 relates to the side past times side prototype below.
And here's the residuum of the information related to #2.
They had no shot glasses, but I picked upwardly a fridge magnet. Also, we've been on the hunt for a twosome of coasters to role when nosotros lay upwardly frosty drinks on the table, together with I institute them here.
Also, I enjoyed this t-shirt. This "advice from a dune" was printed on diverse items inwards the gift shop.
Behind the visitor ticker was a brusque nature trail. The dune champaign is thence large, in that place isn't truly whatsoever agency to capture it except inwards panorama. Remember that yous tin ship away brand the prototype larger past times clicking on it.
Here's merely about to a greater extent than information almost how the dunes are formed via the forces of current of air together with water.
It was a brusque trail...something of a botanical garden alongside signs along the agency identifying the diverse plants. We've seen these trivial wild asters growing all over Colorado.
Here's a novel 1 on me. I've been calling these blooming desert shrubs "sagebrush." As it turns out, it is truly known equally "rabbitbrush."
This was an interesting graphic almost short town of this area.
And that was all fine together with dandy, but our shadow selves truly wanted to larn closer to the dunes.
We drove upwardly the route a brusque distance until nosotros came to a parking expanse together with a brusque trail leading out to the "dune sheet."
There were a lot of people here...many alongside large pieces of cardboard together with other sand-sliding apparatus. We walked almost halfway across the sand sheet, but it was difficult on my genu walking on soft sand. After a while, nosotros decided we'd gone far plenty together with turned back.
Out of curiosity, nosotros drove through the common campground, which was total when I tried to brand a reservation terminal month. Still, it was practiced to come across it. I doubtfulness whatsoever of the spaces were large plenty to suit all 45 feet of our length. Instead, nosotros decided to endeavor hiking out to Zapata Falls merely exterior the park. There was a brusque hike inwards to come across it, but it showtime meant driving upwardly a real petroleum road. We had the camper soundless on the truck together with decided against it. It did give us a overnice sentiment of the mountains behind us, however. Storm clouds seemed to survive brewing.
From there, nosotros headed dorsum to the RV common together with relaxed for the residuum of the afternoon. We both took naps. I'd been upwardly since 4:45 a.m., together with a nap sounded pretty practiced to me. After our naps, nosotros got Smitty out for a overnice long walk. It was a practiced affair because it started raining slow inwards the afternoon. We've noticed that Colorado tends to larn thunder together with lightning storms inwards the slow afternoon. They blow through difficult together with fast, together with and thence the sunshine returns.
Today we're moving W to Dolores, Colorado, where we'll remain 2 nights spell nosotros see Canyon of the Ancients National Monument. I'm aware that Mesa Verde National Park is correct nigh by, but nosotros visited in that place inwards 2006, together with thence nosotros won't become dorsum this fourth dimension around. Canyon of the Ancients would survive plenty argue to visit, but the route volition accept us through Cortez, where Cortez Quilt Company is located. I planned the itinerary for this trip, together with thence I routed us through Cortez. I can't recollect how I heard almost this shop, but something motivated me to impress off a page together with materials it into my Colorado folder.
So, off nosotros go. It's a chip of a long drive today at 265 miles, but the quilt store is entirely 198 miles. We should become far good earlier closing time.