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Stopped by here with the family; the sand was far too hot to walk on… so we enjoyed the views from the walkway and shade canopies.
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK COLORADO
We started out early that morning before the crowds swarm over the frontal dunes. Our goal was to climb the frontal dunes and enter the back dune complex where few enter. There is no direct access up as you climb one dune to its end and then drop down into an interdune area only to climb up the next higher dune. Soft sand and steep angles do not make for an easy climb. My wife graciously allowed me to plod ahead of her at my own pace. I had just sat down after exploring a nearby dune only to see her slowly moving up the ridge in front of me. We both eventually made it to the dune crest shown on the upper right of this image. A group of three hikers are visible on the crest. One hiker told us we were on the summit of High Dune. High Dune is the third highest dune in the park rising 708 feet from its base to its crest at an elevation of 8727 feet above sea level. One has a full 360-degree view of the dune complex from this point. Only Star Dune (750 feet) and Hidden Dune (741 feet) are higher. Great Sand Dunes has the tallest dunes in North America.
Dramastically different than the glittering sands when illuminated by the last sunray, the dunes were suddenly covered by a soft blue/purple color, just as still as another planet. I think the other photographer sitting there would feel just the same.
@ Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO
Sea waves are green and wet,
But up from where they die,
Rise others vaster yet,
And those are brown and dry.
They are the sea made land
To come at the fisher town,
And bury in solid sand
The men she could not drown.
~Robert Frost~ Sand dunes
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