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After hiking the Mosca Pass Trail, I
was ready to have an adventure with the dunes. One of my hopes was to see Medano Creek running with water
along the sand dunes. The best chance to see that is in the spring, when the snow is melting in the mountains.
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Sadly, Medano Creek was not running at
the main entrance to the dunes. See that large flat area
that approaches the dunes? That is the creek bed for Medano Creek!
Looking way up the creek from the visitor center, I could see
water running upstream. It was only a 15 to 20 minute hike up the creek bed to reach the water. |
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One picture of the beautiful blue sky and clouds
above the Great Sand Dunes. |
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Walking in the creek bed, I snapped this
shot of some cottonwoods with
the Sangre De Cristo Mountains in the background. |
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Hooray! There it is. Medano Creek! :) |
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Now this is definitely an odd geological
feature, and it happens to many of the creeks in the San Luis Valley. Medano Creek
sort of "vanishes" - It actually sinks into the ground and contributes to a
large aquifer below the San Luis Valley. Eventually, this water will somehow meet up with the
Rio Grande, the main tributary river in the valley. |
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The water wasn't much, but it was quite pleasant to see.
During this visit to the dunes, I was not in the mood to do any major hiking on the dunes themselves.
Enjoying Medano Creek was quite a treat though. |
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One more shot. |
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Folks, the Great Sand Dunes is one of those places
that I think everyone needs to see once in their lifetime.
-Photos by Steve Garufi in Buena Vista, Colorado.
His web site is www.ColoradoGuy.com. |
