🙋🏻♀️ Off to discover new adventures today starting with Chimney Rock National Monument. 🎉 It was designated a NM in 2012, by President Barack Obama. 4,726-acres, of off-the-beaten-path, archaeological sites located at the southern edge of the San Juan Mountains in Colorado, in the Chaco Canyon. Archaeological structures and artifacts, abundant wildlife, and 360-degree views of Colorado and New Mexico from the top was worth the stop! 🙌 2,000 ancient Pueblo Indians between AD 925 and 1125, built ancient homes and ceremonial buildings here, some of which have been excavated for viewing and exploration: a Great Kiva, a Pit House, a Multi-Family Dwelling, and a Chacoan-style Great House Pueblo. Chimney Rock is the highest in elevation of all the Chacoan sites, at about 7,600 feet above sea level. Chimney Rock itself is approximately 315 feet tall. Next to Chimney Rock is Companion Rock, which is a popular nesting spot for the Peregrine Falcon. As the moon makes its lunar cycle across the sky over a period of 18.6 years, it appears in a lunar standstill between the 2 rocks for roughly 16 months. We hiked both paths, the one up to Chimney Rock was moderately challenging, unimproved trail with a 200 ft elevation gain to the top! 🥾 When we made it down & back to the camper & now it was time for lunch and to head on to our next adventure! *** 🌞🪣😎 What a sight to see as we got closer, for all around us were beautiful snow capped mountains but then right in front of them…… Sand Dunes! Hard to fathom this! Welcome to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, 107,342 acres in National Park and 41,686 acres of National Preserve in the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness. 🏕 We had an awesome site facing the dunes there in the NP at Piñon Flats Campground! This is bear country…signs on tables and we even had a metal locked box to store coolers etc in! 🐻😱 Off to the visitor center & explore! 🧭 ***The large sand dunes are up to 750 ft tall & cover 30 sq. miles! The park has the tallest sand dune (Star Dune) in North America. The Park was originally designated Great Sand Dunes National Monument in 1932 by President Herbert Hoover, to protect it from gold mining and the potential of a concrete manufacturing business.*****🚶🏻♀️ 🚶♂️ We walked across the wide and shallow Medano Creek which runs in front of the dunes. The water was cold and when the wind would blow it caused a surge flow! (A rare phenomenon where the water flows in waves….. & we got to see it)! How cool was that! We brought our red snow saucer…..which we bought in Ohio when we picked up Ruby! Many people use sand boards and sand sleds. We paid it forward at the end of our visit and gave them to a couple who didn’t have anything to slide down on! ❤️ The next day we took part of the 4WD road up Medano Pass, which was an unpaved road, crossed streams and had areas of deep sand. We took a short hike up there too. Then enjoyed a nice dinner around the campfire truly amazed at how the full moon light up the entire area like a large flashlight was on! 🌝 ⭐️ How did these dunes happen 440,000 years ago? Well the wind funnels toward the three mountain passes over 65 miles to the west. The combination of opposing winds, a huge supply of sand from the valley floor, and the sand recycling water from the creeks, are all part of the reason that these are the tallest dunes in North America.The main dunefield is moist beneath a thin layer of dry surface sand. While the top few inches of sand are blown around during windstorms, the moist sand remains largely in place. During the summer months, the sand temperature can reach 150*! 🥵 YIKES! 😳 Here in this area are bear, Bobcats, elk, mule deer, pronghorn, white tailed jack rabbits, coyotes and Abert’s Squirrel. Seven insect species thrive here and nowhere else in the world and only one mammal the Ord’s kangaroo rat , he lives in the dune field along with the great Sand Dune tiger beetle! 🪲 Sorry to say we didn’t see them either! Thank God I’d be screaming and you would of heard it 3000 miles away! So after a few days of playing in the sand, 🪣 and water 💦 , it’s said to say goodbye to Colorado and be responsible adults and start heading southeast towards home but we still have some more adventures lined up so next comes Oklahoma! 😢 Sad to say goodbye to the mountains and all the new & old memories out here!
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