Last weekend, I headed down to the Great Sand Dunes for the second time in less than a month. The previous report had showed them covered with snow. This time around, a couple pictures below show that there actually was sand under all of that! I went down there last weekend with a good friend, and the best web designer I've ever come across (no offense, Kevin!), and a pretty darn good photographer to boot. Here are a few of his incredible sites a few may enjoy:

JesseSpeer.com

AroundColorado.com (My favorite Colorado site)

RockyMountainNationalPark.com

Oh, and yes, Mr. BajaTaco, I did camp two more nights in the 'Runner! That goes without saying!















Photo coutesy of Jesse Speer of yours truly at Zapata Falls, which lies a few miles from the dunes

 

oh. my. god.

those are some beautiful shots.

 

Holy moses. Great shots, as usual. And that guys page is going on my Favorites list! Incredible...

 

I would sure be tempted to want to climb that frozen waterfall!

Looks like a great adventure. Those dunes, and that area has sure received a lot of press recently!

 

That place is crazy cool. Thanx for the additional shots.So what's the deal with the press coverage lately?

 

Those shots are just incredible. You do a great job of making the viewer wish they were there!

 

Thanks, guys!



Scott was either referring to the fact that this is my second recent report on the place, or that this is America's newest National Park, which officially came to be last September, but the process to make it a park actually started back in 2000. I'm pretty sure he was referring to the former, though.

 

coool pics Darren - no pun intended.

 

Darren, you definitely have a gift. I can only imagine the discipline it takes to capture those moments on film. Your subject matter is top notch as usual.

I think it may be time to drop your amateur photographer status and go pro

 

Excellent pics as always Darren!

 

You really are getting good at this Trip Report thing Darren. As always, magnificent!

I've been out of the loop, what's the status of Medano Pass since GSD is now a NP? Have thay paved it and put a toll booth on the top or just locked the gate?

 

Thanks for the added compliments, fellas!

Matt, good to hear from you. Hope things are/have been/will be improving for you. I've been wondering how you've been doing. Anyway, there is actually no change (and won't be a change) at all for Medano since the NP designation went official. It's pretty unique to have a road like this in the NP system. The designated campsites remain free in the National Preserve section on the west side, though a camping permit is required. You can't get a permit if you usually pull in late like I do, though. One thing I thought was going to change was the park entrance fee, but that remains $3. Quite a bargain. The new visitors center is pretty sweet, too. A huge upgrade from the trailer thing they used to have.