Running Down and Trudging Up Large Hills at the Great Sand Dunes National Park

Great Sand Dunes Trip Report (By Steve Garufi - February 2006)

	Last month, my friend Tanya from Seattle came out to visit me and wanting to do some kind of Colorado adventure, I decided to take her to the Great Sand Dunes! February is not the greatest or warmest month to go, but I figured if the sun was out, we would be okay. In the adjacent photo, Tanya got a shot of me running up a dune! :)
	Capturing the depth and size of these dunes can be very difficult at times. I liked the outlining shape of the dunes in this one. Oh, and be sure to view my pictures about running down the steep dunes too.
	After hiking up the dunes for about 45 minutes, we looked back to see a gentleman walking back towards the visitor center. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains stand tall in the background.
	One nice shot of me.
	And one nice shot of Tanya. The lighting wasn't the greatest, but as you can see, one has a really nice view of the vast and wide open spaces of the San Luis Valley from the dunes. This state has so much to offer and that's why I live here!
	I think I took this picture of Mount Herard near the trailhead parking lot.

These pictures were submitted by Steve Garufi in Buena Vista, Colorado. His web site is ColoradoGuy.com.