Sand in My Pants, Colorado

Ever since crossing into Colorado we've been all eyes closed and smiles happy. With the Rockies in every inch of our peripherals we felt a big sense of comfort compared to the desert. We winded through Highway 160 and some teeny tiny towns like Center, CO which really isn't the center of much until getting to Great Sand Dunes National Park.

Once again we arrived to a FULL campground at 8 PM. Blast! The website AND the lady I talked to on the phone said the campground almost never fills so don't worry about it. We drove around the loops to scope it out anyway and ended up coming across a group of 6 Coloradoan angels who offered to share their 40 person campground. YES!!! We settled into what would be our last night of camping. Our tent was complete with a library, hydration station, electronic board complete with a stereo, a safe for valuables and of course sleeping quarters. Our party of two was quite the contrast to our neighboring children's playground that played Kumbaya into the night.

The next day we approached the tallest sand dunes in North America to climb 650 feet to High Dune. From our first steps into the sand this hike proved to be way harder than climbing out of the Grand Canyon. We took our time, like a lot of time, until reaching our destination that is apparently the windiest and painful place in the world. We perched up on the ridge of the dune where the wind would not stop blowing sand into every cranny of our tired bodies. The feeling was mainly unpleasant with a sense of rewarding. 

We tumbled down to shake the sand out of our everywhere just in time to beat the clouds and sprinkle storm rolling in. We caught a quick meal on our way out and loaded up on crystals and gems at the gift shop on our way out to add to our dashboard shrine of sacred trinkets that serve as our road trip spirit guides. Fort Collins here we come!