Great Sand Dunes National Park, Day 2

Pat and I arrived at the park the previous afternoon with just enough time to strap on our packs, hike out to the Indian Cove campsite and set up the tent before sunset, so I didn't have time to take any pictures until the next morning. Pictures from that day are below.

The first picture was taken as soon as I could dig my camera out of my tent after I watched the sun rise. 

To the east of the dunes stand part of the Rockies. The largest peak in this photo, one of Colorado's fourteeners, is the fourth largest peak in the state. 

I haven't yet been able to identify this bird, but they were extremely active during the morning. 

Here's a look at the dune field at midday from the canyon we hiked up. 

Here's a picture of some of the smaller "Escape Dunes", a patch of dunes closer to the mountains than the rest of the field. 

I took this picture as we approached the dune field from the mountains, planning our route through the field back to the campsite. 

Even when there were no dunes, the ground was covered in sand. 

Here we are about one third of the way up our first large dune. The canyon we hiked into earlier in the day is in the background. 

Pat takes a very short rest. We have already climbed a large dune here and you can see that on top are several small dunes like the one in the background. 

Me on top of the dune field, heading toward the campsite. 

Let the GPS lead the way! 

There's a good reason that the grass on top of the dunes looks wind blown.