Day 8- June 7
Great Sand Dunes National Park and the Rio Grande Gorge
Today we started once again early but we had a good nights rest that wasn’t on a blowup mattress. The casino/ hotel had a very poor breakfast however in the morning. I felt like I was eating at a school cafeteria and was in detention at the same time. Nonetheless, we were thankful for a hot meal and moved on.
We were to head north to the Great Sand Dune’s National Park as a final destination. We were planning to stop at the Rio Grande Gorge which was a bridge that crosses an immense cut in the earth. The directions took us through a town called Taos where we stopped for coffee.
Before we arrived at the town we had to drive a scenic byway which was on our list called the High road from Santa Fe to Taos. Along this drive it starts to get mountainous, and features many overlooks of the natural wonders New Mexico is known for. This was a great start to the day, as it didn’t require us to leave the car to hike, and we able to fully absorb the beauty of the surrounding area, and the valleys that were below us. I highly recommend this section of New Mexico. It truly gave me a deeper appreciation of the state in general.
Upon arriving in Taos, the city proved to be one of the most unique cities we saw this trip due to the artistic nature and architectural design of the town. This is a place that we would love to come back and visit sometime, however because we were on a schedule, we needed to keep driving, else we could’ve stayed for the day. However, We did stop at Walmart for supplies for dinner that night.
It was at this point that we started to see what looked like the mountains of Colorado. From Taos, we headed north and eventually cut over toward the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. This was an expected detour, but the road to turn towards it fortunately had a sign, else I would’ve forgotten about this stop as we headed north.
When you arrive at the Rio Grande gorge, the bridge itself is very similiar to the Glen Canyon Dam bridge in Page Arizona. If you park on the west side of the bridge, there is a nice rest area where one can use the restroom and walk only about 150 yards to the gorge overlook. We stopped here and walked out onto the bridge and we’re mesmerized at the architecture of the bridge hovering over the gorge. The bridge itself over 800 feet above the water and is fully suspended by its own weight.
One nice thing to do here as well, is explore the various Indian jewelry made by locals, where they sell them on the side of the road. At the edges there are many Indians and locals selling gifts and handmade goods. We decided to buy three keychains and then continue to the Great Sand Dune’s.
In order to get to the dune’s we had to go through the southern city of Colorado called Alamosa. The city is in the valley of the surrounding Rockies and is located about 50 minutes from the park. We arrived at the park around 11AM, and started looking for campsites but we knew as soon as we pulled in, it would be almost impossible to find, due to the amount of cars in the area. Instead, we decided to try back country camping.
In the park you’re allowed to go beyond the visible front horizon of the sand dune’s and camp overnight. Now this sounded great and we decided to apply for this. This would be our first experience camping outside of a designated campground. The guidelines were only that we had to be pass the dunes where no one can see us at night time and we had to have all our trash taken out with us. Well, what we were not aware of, was how far the top of the dunes actually were….and just how windy it was that day. Well, once we arrived at the top, after an incredibly intense hike up the dunes, we decided to setup camp.
As soon as we put down the tent however, it blew away and I started chasing the tent down the hill! As humorous as this sounds, I was about as mad as could be. This proved to be a waste of time aside from the beauty of the dunes. So we packed up and decide to head back to the car and try to find a campsite within the designated mountain back country camping zone. With that we took the same materials upwards the mountain range and found a nice spot on the side of the hill….until we set everything up and realized that the incline was not going to be comfortable to sleep on. Though we did not camp on the side of the hill, we did grab one of the best pictures of the entire trip from where we were standing through the trees of the dunes. This picture of the sun shining down on the sand, was absolutely breathtaking and worth any trouble that day. We decided to make a last-minute decision and pack up our stuff and go to a campsite down the road. Fortunately, there was availability!
The cost for the night was $26 but it offered a great view and a great spot to cook with the fireplace. One of the worst parts of it however was the treacherous road to get to our designated site. This brings us to the end of the day, but One thing about this campsite, was that it was about a mile south of the national park and the trail getting there was very bumpy which left me very angry due to the fear of tires popping. Nonetheless, the car made it safe and sound and we got some good rest for the next morning after a great fire during the evening.
June 7 Expenses
10.51 gas
7.75 snack
4.75 coffee
8.58 walmart
26.95 Camp fee
Total – 58.54
Santa Fe to Great Sand Dunes – MILES DRIVEN – 181