Our maiden trip in the great American west began from the lovely city of Denver, from where we headed south towards the Great Sand Dunes national park. An hour out on 25 South, the highway was the primary sign of civilization. No city lights, no cell phone signal, no second car on the road for miles.
Most of this journey was on the scenic I-70 highway off Leadville. These photographs were (mostly) taken by our trusty old point & shoot from the car.
Feet up relaxing on a seemingly infinite highway :-)
Most of this journey was on the scenic I-70 highway off Leadville. These photographs were (mostly) taken by our trusty old point & shoot from the car.
Most of this journey was on the scenic I-70 highway off Leadville. These photographs were (mostly) taken by our trusty old point & shoot from the car.
Gorgeous skies, changing every few minutes
This was an incredible part of the journey in Colorado – we stopped several times to just admire :-)
Great Sand Dunes national park, Colorado
These sand dunes are uniquely situated in that all along the way to the national park, there are green fields and dancing flowers on both sides – hardly a harbinger of a desert to come. It is only during the last 5 miles or so, as you drive around a large hill, the vegetation changes completely. Apparently the hill stops moisture laden clouds on its windward side causing plenty of precipitation on one face while the leeward side remains moisture free and barren. Hence the desert-like sand dunes.
Great Sand Dunes national park, Colorado
We camped out at the Pinyon flats campground.
Our campsite at Great Sand dunes national park
It was just a day after full moon night and the moon and stars were our guides for much of our activities on our first night camping outdoors. It was a warm night in late August, near perfect weather, and we called it a day to get a good night’s rest.
All through the night, we could hear various animals, though being city dwellers, we couldn’t really recognize or identify any! The closest encounter we had was in the early hours of the morning – we were woken up by the sounds of something sniffing and walking around our tent. We were both as still as we possibly could be. We heard people talking about bobcats and mountain lions having been sighted when we finally got up that morning. Oh well, all’s well that ends well – and we were off to our next destination – Lake Powell and the Rainbow Bridge.
Heading out from Colorado towards Arizona.
Heading west from southern Colorado toward Arizona
Heading west from southern Colorado toward Arizona
Other parts of this road-trip
1. Heading to the Sand dunes of Colorado
2. Lake Powell, Rainbow Bridge and the Colorado’s horseshoe bend
3. The incredible secret canyons of Arizona – Passage, Staircase and Secret canyon
4. Visiting Canyonlands and Arches national park
5. Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks
