We knew that it would be crowded, but the
queue in was so
bad that we gave up and turned around. Every year the 4th
July week
is the busiest with many full campgrounds. As it was a Thursday,
one day’s
leave gives an American a 4-day holiday; a lot seem to grab this
opportunity.
This National Park is very popular (despite our book describing
it as one of
the quietest) as kids have sand dunes to roll, sledge or
sandboard down next to
a shallow creek with wave surges to play in.
We stopped just outside at the Great Sand Dunes Lodge, finding
that the RV site
was a car park and fortunately full. However, most of the tent
sites were
available and a lot more pleasant. We put our tent up, had tea
and got back to
the National Park in time for a Ranger talk and a walk up to the
dunes outlook.
The campsite was riddled with mosquitos so we retreated to the
RV and planned
to get up early for the main walk. Star Dune is the highest sand
dune in the
USA and the choice is a longer compacted ridge walk, or a softer
more direct
route. The walk, described as gruelling, is tough. At times we
walked a few
paces before resting. We aimed for the highest peak; it was hard
walking in soft
sand at altitude but we kept plodding on. Eventually we arrived
at High Dune to
see the higher Star Dune higher and until then, invisible.
Caroline considered
giving up, firstly because she was tired and secondly the peak
was full of
noisy kids flying kites. We decided to trudge on just as the
kids (on an
adventure holiday) started to leave. Unbelievably we had the
summit to
ourselves; one man arrived, having left his partner behind, but
he quickly
jogged off. Another couple of men arrived discussing the 850 cal
they had
burned off, but again left quickly.
This amazing National Park was ours to
savour, with a 3D
view all around from USAs tallest sand dune – fabulous. This
park has rare
endemic insects and the tiger salamander, sand dunes, wetlands,
mountains still
with snow and forests. It probably has the most diversity of
wildlife anywhere.
We saw plenty of tracks and burrows, but sadly no actual
wildlife, unless you
count the mosquitoes (at the top of the dune even!) Sometimes
completing a walk
makes you feel great and this was one of those walks. So, we
ended our first
week back by completing our visits of all the National Parks in
the South West
with a park that humans have inhabited for 11,000 years and
hunted woolly
mammoths in.