Medano Pass, Great Sand Dunes, Zapata Falls
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Jump
in from the east. Find an open, nice, campsite and set camp. Back on
the trail and drive down to the sand dunes. The trail is one-lane and
traffic was heavy - finding spots to let traffic pass as well as
dealing with vehicles that were stuck in the sand. About 1.5 hours for
5 miles of trail. |
| I-25 just north of Denver with a view of the downtown buildings |
| Down at Florence CO - the high security prison buildings. Driving by - turning where I please, when I please, reinforces that I want to be "out here" and not "in there". |
| Road and scenery that's new to me! Looks nice here. |
| The prior few photos were climbing and now we're "up top" |
| WIDE open valley spreads out for a wide view. |
| The
group met at Westcliffe CO and now we're heading south a bit on
asphalt. We'll "turn right" and head over the mountains to our right. |
| Silver West / Butler Field |
| Info sign at the start of the trail (click for a full size) |
| I left Fort Collins at 7am. It's now about 12:30pm - the first touch of gravel / dirt. |
| Some money down this little used road. |
| No telling where Medano Pass is. |
| This is more to my liking! |
| Looking southeast - back at the valley we were in (far left area) |
| We have set camp and are moving closer to the dunes. |
| One of the interesting parts of this trail is the number of water crossings. |
| First view of the dunes. |
| One of the couple longer jams. A front wheel car thought they would be fine in the 4x4 section of sandy road |
| Rain moving through the area |
| The northern parking area for the dunes. |
| Bang - cross the creek and one LARGE hill to try climbing. One step up, 1/2 step slides back. |
| Rain moving east |
| Parking area behind the trees. |
| Some folks (and dogs) decided to spend some energy. |
| see the spec - center of pic |
| a bit closer - hands and feet - working up |
| Panorama Click for a larger version Rain making the ridgeline difficult to see |
| Panorama Click for a MUCH larger version The main Great Sand Dunes area - asphalt road to the area |
| See the people high on the dunes? See next pic |
| Looking back at the main parking area (just beyond the trees) |
| Folks sliding down the sand |
| Keeping an eye on family for one of the others in the group red cap / white jacket was supposed to stay in sight |
| Heading back to camp |
| Away from the dunes - moving up the valley along the Medano Creek |
