A Dash of the Desert: Great Sand Dunes Nat'l Park & Preserve 7/18/09

As one approaches the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preseve near Mosca, Colorado, the only real thought that carries the day is - no, this place should not exist. What on earth are North America's tallest dunes doing in the heart of the San Luis Valley, let alone in a state known for snow, skiing, and rugged mountain climbing? As with everything deemed "miraculous" in the natural world, there is a very intricate process at work, one that requires a series of steps that must exist as they do, lest the whole thing fall apart. Remove or interrupt even a single one, and the dunes disappear. It all begins with wind, of course, which ensures that the 30 square mile dune field - consisting of five billion cubic yards of palamino-colored sand piled more than 800 feet thick - stays at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The sand itself is what remains of glacial debris that washed out of the San Juan Mountains and into the valley thousands of years ago. Ancient lakes receded, and now, it's a matter of recycling, where melting snows and creeks (Medano Creek being most vital) ensure a fresh supply of sand grains, which the wind, through a process known as "reversing", blows across the dune field to account for the dramatic heights.

As with White Sands, the scientific explanation is crucial, if only to remind visitors how fortunate we are to have such a unique park in our own backyard. And yet, all of that washes away when you first set eyes on this natural oddity. The sand is, to me, nowhere near as beautiful as White Sands' gypsum, but that does nothing to minimize the desert-like appeal. The sand alone would make it seem as if a beach had been plopped down in the middle of Colorado, but it's the wind-swept loftiness that might be confused for the Sahara, or some remote world out of Star Wars. Fortunately, it's that very sand that makes this park one of direct experience, and the massive crowds at the base of the dunes - all without shoes and socks - can testify to the appeal. Children giggled, adults beamed, and wherever there were feet, toes were squishing the sand or being rinsed off in the nearby creek. The skies looked a bit ominous, but you'd never know it. Everywhere one looked, there were people running, hiking, and taking it all in. This is one of the few NPS sites where you don't mind the roars of the wee ones.

So did we give it a go? Hell yes, though I wasn't about to go too far up the dunes, as walking in sand isn't exactly the easiest mode of travel. The sand felt great on my bare feet, and my only regret is that I didn't have a sled of some kind for a kamikaze run to the bottom. Yeah, for a brief moment, I felt 9-years-old all over again, but my joints and heart quickly put me back in my sad, overweight, mid-30s. No matter - it was relaxing all the same, even if there's a whole camping area and preserve that went defiantly unexplored.

The visitor center at the park is stellar, providing a high-quality 20-minute film that provides all the necessary science. You depart knowing exactly what's up. The exhibits are better than most, and the back window provides a great view of the dune area. It's spacious and well-constructed, so kudos to the NPS for giving a damn. After a lifetime of living a few short hours away - and being typically ignorant of my surroundings - I finally witnessed the grandeur of the Great Sand Dunes. It was worth the wait.

FINAL RATING

9/10