Today we left Rocky Mountain National Park and traveled south and west through Boulder, Denver, Colorado Springs (we saw the Air Force Academy, Kathleen), and Pueblo. Our final destination was the Great Sand Dunes National Park, the largest sand dunes in North America. It was 29 degrees when we left RMNP, but in the mid-60s at the Dunes.
We walked through the soft sand to the first tall ridge, but didn’t proceed to the higher elevations. It’s still a challenge for us to hike too far and up in these higher altitudes (I think we’re getting older, too). The Dunes are 7,800 feet above sea level.
Our campground is in the middle of a prairie below the Sangre de Cristo mountains and directly across from the Sand Dunes. Wifi is somewhat limited and I’m having trouble uploading more than a few photos. Hopefully you’ll at least be able to see what I send.
Some of the more adventuresome hikers here carry in sleds and sandboards to slide down the steepest slopes. We were thinking about renting a sled, but as I’ve already mentioned, just hiking up the dunes was about all we could handle. Below is one of the sandboarders.
Back at the campground, this bird, I believe was a swallow, kept flying past our site. I need Grace for a better identification.
What would Colorado be without a cowboy enjoying the sunset.
And after the sunset, we enjoyed the arrival of stars, before the moon rise.
Finally, here’s a photo of the sunset on our final night in Estes Park. I took it after I sent the blog.
Tomorrow it’s on to Utah and Moab. Hopefully we’ll get there early enough to do some exploring in the Arches National Park.
T&C Southwest Adventure 2021 
Such a difference in environment from one day to the next. Just beautiful. Thanks for sharing
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