Nomadic 2005 ‐ Points of Interest

2005-10-02

Off Trough Road on the Colorado River (39.867 N, 106.642 W)After all of the walking I've done, who'd think a little ten-mile hike would wear me out? I guess it was the half-mile of elevation change over extremely rocky ground at high elevation. The views during the hike were breathtaking--quite literally as I repeatedly had to stop and gasp for breath. There were critters up there, too: squirrels, chipmunks, a large quail or grouse, and I think I saw a coney.

Down below where I was hiking, people were gathering nuts from pinyons (small round evergreens). Apparently these seeds only come once every seven years and when cleaned, salted and roasted taste better than peanuts.

I made it to the Great Sand Dunes National Park around 2 PM. It's something to see: a bunch of massive (hundreds of feet high) dunes all bunched up in a corner of a valley for miles and miles. After my morning hike, I wasn't too interested in ascending the highest dunes, but I did walk out into that constantly blowing sand. As I sat on the edge of one dune I could watch the sand moving and changing the surface. I read that in the spring and summer some parts of the sand will pulse as streams of water flow through them.

Next up: driving North across central Colorado. This drive consists of basically one insanely scenic view after another. Colorado is littered with National Forests and Parks and Public Lands and Recreation Areas and Ski Areas and Scenic Views and "Points of Interest." Even the towns are cool to look at--especially those little towns straddling the banks of some river at the bottom of a mile-deep valley. The roads hug mountain sides with 2000 foot drop-offs on one side or the other.

Sadly, while driving I wasn't paying attention and ran over a snake. I also spied a magpie and a herd of elk. Now my goal is to see some mountain sheep.

Story I forgot to post yesterday: While traveling along the 60 miles of the impossibly desolate Highway 10, I decided to stop and take a picture. I then returned to my running car to find the door locked. I sighed as I tried to decide which side of the car would be best for busting out that small far-rear window with a rock. Fortunately, I had left my passenger-side door unlocked at the previous gas station (something I don't normally do). Okay, so this isn't a great story, but there's something about being locked out of your car in the middle of nowhere that freaks you out a little.