Our Last Day at the Dunes

Erica and Richard got up early and cuddled for a while. Richard and Erica went on a dunes hike with a ranger. Erica mostly played in the water and sand, and Richard learned about rocks. Marianne and Ariana went birdwatching, and saw deer, jackrabbit, and flowers. After lunch, the girls went to the dunes on their own, and later Richard went down to join them.

We sat outside for a while and read, and then had an early dinner, with some sharing. Ari read a prayer, and Erica read the story of Daniel in the Lion's den. We went to an evening ranger talk, telling stories for the kids. Erica was a frog in one of the stories. The young ranger did a very good job.

We closed the day with the usual competitive Skipbow game. Friday we get up early to head home.

Richard, Marianne, Ariana, and Erica

An Educational Day at the Dunes

We started the day with a nature walk from the Montview trailhead. Our guide was ranger Paul, who was a serious birder. He knew all the bird calls and could whistle like any bird. He was good with the kids on the tour, and pointed out the various trees and plants. He spoke good Spanish, and had spent time in South America.

After lunch, we went to the kids talk at the picnic area, where they passed around arrowheads, a mammoth tooth, as well as animal skulls of bear, coyote, pronghorn antelope, and great horned owl. A good program by Bridgette, a young student from North Carolina.

After the kids program, we went to the visitor center, where Erica bought a wood kit of a bald eagle. Richard and Erica assembled it when we got back to the camper, but it took thought, teamwork, and carefulness.

Before dinner, Richard, Ariana, and Erica walked over to play on the dunes for a while. Marianne cleaned up the camper and cooked dinner. We were greeted with delicious hot chocolate. We got back just in time, before the rain started in earnest.

Richard

The first thing we did today was go to a bird program run by ranger Paul. He was amazing at bird calls! We saw many birds and i found out that I thought him that Douglas Firs tasted like orange. After the program we went back to the camper for a good lunch. Then we went to the kids program about what people found at the Sand Dunes run by Bridgette. She showed us skulls, a mammoth tooth, and arrow heads. After the program we went to the Visitors Center where I bought a poster, a postcard, a magnet, a bookmark, and a water bottle!Then we went home and decided to go to the dunes and play for a while. The river was cold but we still had fun. We came home to some hot coca and some spaghetti. A great day.

Ari

Great Sand Dunes National Park

Monday morning, we got up and caught a few more frogs. Then we packed up and drove to Sand Dunes National Park. By arriving in the morning, we were able to get an excellent campsite with a great view of the dunes.

After lunch, Erica and I went down to play in Medano Creek. Marianne and I had never seen the creek so high. The creek was like a beach scene, with kids playing in the sand, adults trying to stay dry, and the creek flowing, but never over a foot deep. We gave a couple of older ladies a ride back to the visitor center, as they did not want to hike back. While we were at the creek, Marianne and Ariana worked on a big cat jigsaw puzzle.

In the evening, Erica, Ariana and I hiked down to the creek, for more playing. Where we were, there were fewer people, but more mosquitoes.

We talked about going to the ranger talk, but it was raining on and off, so we decided not to go.

Richard

We loved to play in the sand. Ari did not want to go to the river the first time. We had a great time, and we hope that you are doing great.

Erica