I have wanted to go to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve for a few years. It was more fun than I would have thought thanks to my daughter-in-law who recommended we rent sleds for the dunes. Who knew you could rent sleds and “sand” boards and go sledding on the sand?

This is a relatively new national park (2004) and is only a few hours drive from Colorado Springs. For me the drive down was well worth it. We rented our sleds at the Oasis store just outside of the park entrance.

The dunes look big close up. As you are driving to them, they look small in comparison to the mountains. Even the mountains look small from a distance. Once you are on the dunes and realize just how big the dunes are it is startling. This is the biggest dune field in North America.

 It took a while to hike out to a good spot for our sledding adventure.

We had good instructions; more wax makes the board go fast.  Going downhill was fun. The hard part of the day was walking back up hill after the downhill run. Too bad there was no ski lift for us.

A side benefit was that it was not too hot. The sand, according to the NPS, is much hotter than the air. Since it was cooler outside the sand was not too hot to touch. We know as we all fell off of our sleds.

The entrance to the dunes is over Medano Creek that apparently runs right across the only way to the dunes. We did not have to cross the creek; it was dried up in August. It would have been a nice relief to our feet to wade through the creek on the way back.

Traveling during COVID

It has been a while since I was on an airplane, okay, early in March. I remember that after September 11, 2001, I took a business flight right after the skies re-opened. I was flying to Denver from Boston and saw a lot of changes mainly with security. The military was out in force at Logan and hardly anyone was flying. At the gate there was a large collection of pocket knives and nail clippers that travelers were still used to carrying on board. The airport in Denver after 9-11 was almost deserted. More people were waiting to get us through security on the return trip than we saw going through security.

In the same way, we experienced several changes on our flight in August to Denver. Everyone was wearing a mask and the Public Address system talked about cleaning. Markers were on the floor to give us a distance marking. Everyone appeared to do their best, although at times (think trains in the Denver airport) circumstances do not allow for the distances being asked for.  We were happy not all seats in our row on the airplane were filled. It was a good experience and I again felt safe flying.

I did fly direct to Denver and then drive to Colorado Springs to avoid more time in airports. I will look to fly again directly as much as possible. We were handed sanitizer for the seat and given a beverage and a snack in a plastic bag along with more sanitizer. I appreciate the front line workers at the airline and the airport. You are all coming into contact with a lot of us each day. Some can work from home but the hospitality business must show up. Thank you for showing up for us.

Bike Riding in Garden of the Gods

We have visited Garden of the Gods more than once. I think our kids all love the location as do I. Prior to this trip I had not ridden a bike in the park. That all changed thanks to Pikes Peak Mountain Bike Tours. We had a beautiful clear morning riding in the park with our guide. We have been on bike tours before. This is our first tour with just a guide and me and my wife. It was enjoyable riding as we went at our pace and saw the sights we wanted to see.  We rode over 20 miles in about 3 hours.

Our guide, Nate, was very knowledgeable and friendly. The highlight for me was taking the mountain bike trail in the park (Ute trail) that I had used for an indoor biking class. We had hiked this trail before. This was a better experience than I had described to my class. We managed to go on the trail a few times.

After our ride we went to the gift shop to have an ice cream. What a nice location and the ice cream was good as well.

 Paint Mines Interpretive Park

I had never been to Paint Mines in Colorado before. This is a local (El Paso County) park. We were amazed at the rock formations and the colors. The picture I took does not do it justice. Once you have biked in Garden of the Gods Park, also in El Paso County Colorado, taking a hike in the Paint Mines is the next best adventure to tackle.

We enjoyed our hike among the painted rocks. The rock colors were hard to believe. It was an easy hike and a well-marked path.

Other Fun

This was funny to us, as we have never experienced a hail storm like they do in Colorado Springs. We were out for a walk around the block and it was cloudy. I guess you can buy anything. I had never seen a hail protector before.

It was nice to see our son dressed up for the day—someone has to work.

Going out to breakfast in downtown Colorado Springs during the week was a treat. We were safe while enjoying a good breakfast.

The city has closed several streets to allow people to get around downtown. Much different from our last visit to downtown Colorado Springs.

We enjoyed walking along in the Fountain Creek Regional Park. This has several miles of walking, horse, and mountain or gravel bike trails.  This was an enjoyable park for all sorts of athletic activities.

We had a couple of hikes in the nearby Cheyenne Mountain State Park. Each hike was enjoyable and moderate. It was good to get out and hike. We found this park the best marked park we have hiked in yet. Every time we came to an intersection, we found a marker.

Our travel to Colorado was very relaxing. We did manage to play bridge, laugh and enjoy spending time with family.