After spending a month in the Pikes Peak Region east of the Rocky Mountains (read more here), we headed west (via I-25 and US 160). Once over the Sangre de Christo mountain range and into the San Luis valley, you can look in any direction and see mountains all around you! We stayed just outside Alamosa at a new campground called Base Camp Family Campground. There weren’t many amenities yet, but the pull- through spaces were nice and big and we were close to our main goal—The Great Sand Dunes National Park.
As we drove the long 16-mile road to get into the park, I tried to imagine what this enormous sand box would look like. I had seen a few smaller dunes in North Carolina, but those would pale in comparison to the tallest dunes in North America! As you get close to the park entrance, the view of the dunes gets bigger and better. Once you are upon them, it feels like you could be in the Arabian Desert—the dunes just keep going and going!
I have to say this was one of my favorite parks because the dunes are just so different and unlike anything you normally experience. It made me feel like a kid again as we took off our shoes and frolicked in the sand. We went in the early evening when the sand had cooled off (summer sand temperatures can exceed 150 degrees) and were able to climb up many of the dunes. It was very windy at the top, which helps you understand how the 30 square miles of dunes get their ever-changing sculpted shapes.
The next day we opted to see one of the other environments of the park: its diverse ecosystems range from wetlands to forest to tundra. We hiked the Mosca Pass Trail, which was a 7-mile round trip hike with a 1400-foot elevation change. After climbing on rocky trails along the mountainside and through cool forests, we emerged onto a flower-filled meadow at the top of the pass. Think Sound of Music: ‘”the hills are alive…”
From Alamosa we travelled north on CO 17/US 285 and then west on US 50 to Montrose. The road over Monarch Pass was quite steep and full of twists and turns, but the views were very pretty. The valley around Montrose was green and lush and there were many reservoirs and lakes. We stayed at Cedar Creek RV Park which was nice smaller campground with its own miniature golf course, AND it was close to our next national park!
Montrose is only a short drive to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. I had never really heard much about this national park, but I was really impressed by the steep canyon walls. Carved through solid granite over millions of years, the canyon walls plunge 2,700 feet to the Gunnison River below. Jaw-dropping scenery abounds along the South Rim Drive and there are many overlooks and trails along the way. We hiked Oak Flat Trail which is NOT flat, by the way, but did offer great views along the side of the cliff and through a wooded area. Dragon Point and Warner Point are also stopping places well worth the effort. The views are beautiful and include the Painted Wall, where veins of pink pegmatite run horizontally through the canyon walls of dark blue/black gneiss.
The town of Montrose offered much more than Alamosa in the way of restaurants and stores. A campground host recommended Ted’s Steakhouse as having the best steak in town. It was conveniently located right across from our campground and our meal was indeed delicious. We also found a Russell Stover factory store where we loaded up with chocolate and a farm market that had the best sweet corn and Palisade peaches we’ve ever tasted. Our timing for produce was good!
We did a day trip to Ouray, which is called the Switzerland of the US. It is a beautiful and quaint little town about 40 minutes from Montrose. There are mountains on all sides of the main street, which is lined with shops and restaurants. We had a nice lunch at the Ouray Brewery and great ice cream at Mouse’s Chocolate and Coffee Shop. There is a pretty waterfall right off 8th Street called Lower Cascade Falls that is really easy to get to. Just a 3-mile drive at the end of town takes you to Box Canyon Falls Park. This area has three different trails and once you get to the falls you are rewarded with the roar of water that helped create this canyon. Canyon Creek narrows to spill thousands of gallons of water a minute over the falls and is a dramatic sight!
From Montrose we continued north on US 50 to Fruita, which is just west of Grand Junction. We stayed at Monument RV Resort, conveniently just outside the Colorado National Monument. We spent two days exploring this cool area, first with the 23-mile Rim Rock Drive where you can see amazing views, balanced rocks, and towering monoliths. The second day we did a 5-mile hike to Independence Monument for a close-up view.
Every Thursday evening (in the summer) in nearby Grand Junction you can visit a great local event called Market on Main. Vendors, fresh produce, and entertainment abound along the main street and many families were out enjoying the warm summer evening. A rather odd thing in Grand Junction is seeing streets with fractions in their name, like 24 ¾ Road. Apparently, it goes back to the town’s beginning and helps people know how far the streets are from the border of Utah.
We discovered that the western side of Colorado is indeed beautiful and has much to offer. Having the mountains on all sides is definitely a different perspective than we are used to. While I am not a big fan of mountainous driving, once we got to each place, I truly enjoyed the sights. We’ve now visited three National Parks and are heading off to Utah for the Mighty 5…..stay tuned!
I love your descriptions about all these great places, we can enjoy them too. Beautiful pictures!
Thanks–hopefully you can get out to some of them one day. Such different scenery on the western side of the mountains!
Learning from your blog!!
Thanks Jacki–ya’ll will have to plan a trip to Colorado one of these days!
REALLY GREAT pictures and you are becoming a professional sand dune climber 🙂
Thanks Sandi. These dunes made the ones we saw at Nags Head pale in comparison! This was definitely one of my favorite places so far:)
Amazing, loved the video ,I could feel the water. Just beautiful.
Love reading your stories, and enjoy all the beautiful photos.
Thanks for sharing
Thanks, Pam. Wasn’t that water amazing?! We are loving all the great places we have seen:)
I love Colorado, and the country around Ouray is SO BEAUTIFUL!
We had heard so much about Ouray and I agree with you that it is very beautiful!