Colorado Trip! Day 2

We looked at the forecast for the week in the greater southern Colorado region to find the best weather day to do an all day excursion. And today is that day. We are off to the Great Sand Dunes National Park!

It’s quite a few hours to get there, so we decided to have lunch at All-Gon Pizza in Fort Garland. The food was really good and we were able to eat outside on the patio, which is always fun. It’s an interesting place that sells both Italian and Mexican cuisine!

After the quick stop for lunch, we were off to the sand dunes! I hadn’t been there for probably two decades, and it didn’t disappoint! As you drive towards the dunes they don’t seem to get any closer. And as one tries to climb up the dunes, similarly, you don’t seem to make much progress! Even though the air temperature was relatively cool at that elevation, the sand temperature was definitely on the hotter end, making a difficult decision between walking with and without footwear.

We found a nice ridge well below the highest dunes to slide, fly a kite, and people watch for a while. When it was time to go, Brian took the opportunity to have great fun in the mountain stream that goes by the dunes. He created all sorts of natural contraptions to dry and dam up this river. Although not successful, he had a blast. He even had fun when his bottom landed directly in the water while trying to goalie stop the water! Luckily there are outdoor showers outside the restrooms that we could use to clean-up at before getting back in the car!

We headed over to the museum to learn some more, but the kids always gravitate to the souvenirs. It took a lot to get the kids out of the gift shop, but hey, the adults loved the stuff in there too! They did enjoy looking at and interacting withe the various sand and rock exhibits.

We tried to find a place to picnic in the park, but the mosquitoes and other insects were insane! We quickly packed-up and went off to the next closest town to try again, but we were attacked yet again at the Hooper Public Park! With thunderstorms on the way, we decided to just eat in the car as we headed North up through South Park. The views were very scenic and especially dramatic with major thunderstorms coming from the West.

On the drive back, the weather was such where there was heavy rain and hail. The hail was hard enough in certain parts where it looked like snow in South Park. Some roads in Colorado Springs were actually flooded!

Back at the house, we had build-your-own deserts. Brian created a jello and grape concoction!