Four U.S. National Parks in five days:
Great Sand Dunes National Park.
Early this year my mother said she wanted to visit Four Corners, where you can stand at the confluence of four states. She said it would make a nice family trip after convening in Denver for my nephew’s graduation. I was surprised at her choice of attraction, but agreed and started planning.
The details of the trip formed almost organically. I planned a few stops to break up the drive to and from the monument, and told my mother I wanted to visit Arches National Park while we were in the area.
When I mentioned the trip to my friend’s mother, she suggested Mesa Verde National Park. When we met up with my uncle in Denver he proposed breaking up the drive east with Great Sand Dunes National Park and the return to Denver with Colorado National Monument. I was happy to incorporate their suggestions and to see more of the western United States.
Ultimately, my brother and his family couldn’t make the trip, but my mother’s sister decided to come. I upgraded our rental car and made some additional hotel reservations. Our main stops were set: Denver to Durango to Cortez to Moab and then back to Denver. The day we were to return to Denver, I would fly out to New York City for a week before continuing on to Kigali, where I’d spend my birthday.
In Denver we eat an early breakfast before checking out of the hotel and driving south to pick up my aunt. My uncle had a guide book that a friend of his had printed and he lends it to my mother for the duration of the trip. He had given my mother a copy but she had left it at home. This was his last copy.
He offers us snacks for the road, but we’re already well-laden. The night before we had stopped off at Walmart and I bought a case of water. My mother and aunt had brought snacks from home. My uncle offers a last minute suggestion for our trip back to Denver and I write it down in my notes.
The highway leading south out of Denver is lined with office buildings and complexes for a disappointingly long time. I start to wonder when the landscape will change, longing for the open road. And then the structures fall away, replaced by an unbroken landscape devoid of human structure.
We stop for lunch at a KFC. It’s been a very long time since I’ve eaten at one. We’ve been driving south for hours on Interstate 25; it’s 250 kilometers of straight down from Denver before we take a right turn.
Nearing the dunes, we see a sign for a waterfall and turn to check it out. The road winds up into the mountains and to a small lot at the base of a path. The hike to the waterfall is rocky and uneven and we decide to pass, but from the parking lot we can see the dunes not far in the distance.
From the parking lot to the waterfall it’s a short distance to the entrance. We stop at the entrance sign to take photos and I offer to take photos for a family of three that have paused to do the same. They’re from east Texas and have been on the road since three in the morning.
He has time off and so they’ve embarked on a three-week road trip. It’s the first time they’ve done something like this and they plan to camp along the way. The daughter is excited about a certain waterfall, but it’s a long hike in and out; the father is not so sure. I’m excited for them and for the memories they’ll share. It’s a trip the daughter will never forget.
At the entrance to the park my mother proudly presents her America the Beautiful parks pass to the gate attendant. She had bought a lifetime pass over ten years ago and it continues to pay dividends. She calculates that we’ll save over $100 in park fees over the course of the week. The ranger looks at the pass and welcomes us to the park.
It’s a short drive to the visitor center. It’s under construction and so we are directed to a temporary structure. I ask the ranger about short easy hikes in the area. He suggests we drive first to the dunes. The parking lot sits just at the base and it’s an easy walk to get to them. He doesn’t tell us that we’ll have to ford a shallow river to do so.
If we have time, he suggests a nature walk that runs through the hills opposite the dunes. I thank him and we head back to the car to drive to the dunes.
Great Sand Dunes National Park boasts the tallest sand dunes in North America. There are a number of groups spread out amongst the dunes and in the river that runs adjacent to them. Children bathe and create sand castles in the river. Adults sandboard and sled on the dunes.
I take off my shoes to wade across the river to the dunes and then climb some of the nearer ones for the views into the valley. I refrain from attempting to climb the larger ones to see what lies beyond. We don’t have a lot of time if we’re to make it to Durango by dinner.
I meet my parents and my aunt back at the near shore of the river. They’re barefoot having just crossed the river themselves. At the car we brush sand off of our feet and snack and drink water. It’s another few hours to Durango and so we climb back into the car and prepare for the ride.
Along the way we pass farms with bright green shoots in the fields. My mother wonders what they could be as they light up the landscape.
At one point we cross a mountain, driving around a hairpin turn that we’re warned about for miles ahead of approaching it and then are rewarded with a fantastic view of the valley ahead. A sign announces that we’re in Pagosa country, and my aunt tells us about a spring she had once visited with our uncle in the towns ahead.
Nearing Durango we see a rock formation in the distance. Signs point to Chimney Rock National Monument and we decide to take a detour to get a closer look. Unfortunately, the park is closed, and so we must satisfy ourselves with photos taken from the gated entrance.
In Durango, we check into the Strater Hotel, first built in the late 1800s by Cleveland pharmacist Henry Strater who believed that Durango would prosper. Unfortunately, the silver panic of 1895 dashed his dreams.
Now, the renovated hotel houses and tells the history of Colorado in the 1800s and the birth of Durango. It’s a hotel teeming with atmosphere with beautifully wallpapered rooms. After the day’s drive, I’m happy for a shower and a moment to lie down in a firm bed before dinner.
22 May 2023
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