We did something a bit different on April 16th, which was Day 11 of our travels... We actually spent some time in the town that we spent the night in! haha ;) Since we didn't reach our hotel in Pagosa Springs till 2:00am the evening of the 15th, we decided to sleep in a little and relax the next morning to give ourselves a bit of a break.
We hung around in Pagosa Springs for the morning enjoying the scenery and cool hot springs attractions around town.
Our first stop was COFFEE! We loved hanging out in this neat local coffee shop, the coffee and food was delicious as well :)
We drove back downtown to where our hotel was and went to the cool hot springs area across the street.
There were all these pools and outdoor spas outside of the resorts where people can swim and relax in the warm water of the hot springs.
After hitting up a super cool antique shop we decided to head out and get back on the road...
We started heading in the the mountains more, into the area of Wolf Creek pass.
Wolf Creek overlook
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| Waterfall running down a mountain side. |
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| Tunnel in Wold Creek Pass |
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| There was a lot of run off running down the mountain sides |
This spot was really neat, the San Juan river runs all through this pass along the road. Some areas of it, like this place for instance, had deep gorges and rapids. It was so pretty.
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| Oh the places our car has been ;) |
We made it through the mountain pass, and the landscape started becoming a bit more open and the sky started to get blue and pretty :)
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| The only elk we saw on our trip... :p |
Then we began to make our way to the Great Sand Dunes National Park.
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| The mountain ranges were so breathtaking, especially with the clouds the way they were that day. |
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| Tumbleweed! |
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| The clouds were seriously epic... |
As we were making our way to the park, the clouds were getting darker and darker and we could tell snow was about to start falling big time, at any moment.
Right as we made it to the entrance of the park the snow came down in full force, and the temperature dropped dramatically.
We went into the visitors center and talked with some of the staff, who told us it might be worth it to hang around for a bit and see if the snow and clouds would clear up so that we could see the dunes.
So we decided to give it a shot, and made our way out to the sand dunes area to wait....
It was amazing how after only about 5-8 minutes the snow started letting up and the sky started to clear. So Nathan dug our boots out of the cargo carrier, we put on all our warmest clothes, and got our gear together to brave the elements!
Nestled against the rugged Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the Great Sand Dunes are about 11 percent of a 330-square-mile deposit of sand. Eroded from mountains, then shattered by freezing and thawing, and tumbled by streams and winds, sand grains cycle through the dunes system.
I had nooo idea the dunes were that huge! It was totally amazing seeing a mountain of sand right before our eyes!
We slowly started making our way across the small shallow portion of the creek that runs right along the bottom of the dunes. Medano and Sand creeks edge the dunefield as the dunes system's lifeblood. Swift, shallow, and seasonal, they recycle sand as they water this arid valley.
It started snowing really badly again as we reached the other side, so after taking a few pictures, slowly started making our way back with the wind blowing the snow harshly around us making it piercing to any open skin. It was quite the experience... who knew there could be a blizzard near sand dunes ;p
High, cold mountains collect and hold snow from October into April, releasing it in icy streams in late-spring warmth. As community builders, the creeks feed the underground aquifers for San Luis Valley resident's wells, local agriculture, and livestock.
In historic times Southern Ute, Jicarilla Apache, Navajo, gold miners, homesteaders, ranchers, and farmers have lived here, and migrant workers labored here. By the 1920s the dunes fed local pride and tourist income, the valley residents pressed for national monument status, which finally took place in the year 2000.
The areas expansion as a national preserve was driven both by better knowledge of the water's many and complex roles here and the American people's desire to protect the dunes system - dunes, mountains, creeks, and wetlands - forever.
We were really awed by seeing such magnificent scenery, especially when it's so natural and untamed. And the weather was an adventure all on its own ;p
As we started heading south toward New Mexico, the weather turned even more harsh... it made driving quite interesting, as the snow plows were few and the mountains, curves, and amount of cars on the road, were many.
The longer we drove the snow started letting up a little, but not too much. Thankfully though as we reached more civilized parts of the area the roads were at least plowed somewhat.
We reached the boarder of New Mexico when it was quite dark, got to Texas around eleven, then arrived at our hotel in Amarillo, TX around 1:00am. The next day we started to make our way to Missouri, where my aunt's wedding was taking place on the 18th...
Next post coming soon!
* Note to my loyal readers, thanks for taking the time to read and scroll through this lengthy post! Believe it or not there are actually even more pictures of the events of our day ;) If you'd like to check them out you can view them on my Google+ or Facebook page. Links are listed below:
