Great Sand Dunes National Park – Pick-up and a Pop-up

Blog Post: Eli

After West Virginia, we stopped in Indiana to see some friends of my Uncles. Kathy, Jim, Phil and Jen were great hosts with beautiful homes right on Grandview Lake. We were able to jet ski, have a night ride on their boat, and sit in their lakeside hot tub! We had a nice night and were thankful for their hospitality. The next day we made our way to my Auntie Kat and Steve’s house in Missouri. After meeting their new dog Ozzie, we had a Kansas City BBQ for dinner. My dad took my Uncle Bubba to the airport the next morning and we drove a few hours to get to a stop over campsite in Kansas.

The next day, we arrived at Great Sand Dunes National Park and were early enough to rent a sled and two sandboards. I feel like I am on Tatooine when I’m at Great Sand Dunes, and I was excited for my cousin Josh to experience this other world. Once we set the trailer up, we made our way across the river to the dunes. This was my third time to the dunes, and I was eager to start sand boarding. Josh caught onto sand boarding quickly and after a few runs on the small hills, we started riding bigger ones. It was extremely fun and riding down the dunes was a blast. That night, we celebrated my Mom’s birthday with a big spaghetti dinner, salad, garlic toast and ice cream cookie sandwiches (her favorite).

On the second day, Josh and I headed out to sandboard in the morning. As the day went on, the wind picked up, so we headed back to camp. My parents hiked to Zapata Falls while Josh and I chilled out. That evening, my Dad and I went out and boarded together. Early the third morning, my Dad and I went out for some last runs. I was able to conquer Suicide Hill which is an extremely steep hill that had given me trouble in the past. We were happy that no one got hurt while we were sandboarding. The towering snow-covered mountaintops around us really made us feel small. Overall, it was an extremely fun experience for the entire family.