Taking the Southern Route in 1966 - Great Sand Dunes - Day 8

Day 8​

As usual, we had breakfast, and left Durango (or where ever we spent the night)...


...and crossed Wolf Creek Pass...


Wolf Creek Pass

And I knoe this because I have photos (!)


Wolf Creek sign and distance to Durango from here.



Hot Spring

...on our way to the Great Sand Dunes N.P.

The Plymouth is in front of a building that says "Travel Information". But as I remember it, there was very little infrastructure at this park.

My parents went here on their honeymoon in 1932. My mom said there was an electrical storm and all their hair stood up on top of their heads. My mother had waist length hair so if she had it loose that must have been something to see. Bit she probably had her hair braided or in a bun.

My sister and I, remembering sliding down the dunes on Cape Cod, slide down the dunes here on our trip in 1948.

1948 sliding down the dunes.

I was told that it was a remnant of when the sea was up at this level. I understand that isn't the explanation that is given today. Currently you can sand board or sand sled, but when we were there we just slid around on our bottoms


Great Sand Dunes

This dune field has the tallest dunes in North America and spreads across 30 square miles (78 sq. km), a unique high-altitude desert environment but the dunes are not the only ecosystem here. These dunes are a place of extremes: the sand surface can reach 150 degrees F (65 degrees C) on a summer afternoon, or drop to minus 20 degrees F (minus 29 degrees C) on a winter night. While the top few inches are often dry, these dunes are moist year-round, kept wet by ongoing precipitation.


Bob, me and the girls walking to the top of the dunes


My photo looking back at my mom, D and Bob


My parents - my mother has taken off her shoes


Bob and Dad - both wearing shoes


Since, in those days, there was nothing there but sand - no particular infrastructure. So we played in the sand.



Polaroid of the kids

The kids climbed up and rolled down, and climbed up and slid down the dunes on their bottoms like we had done on Cape Cod Sand Dunes when I was a kid.



Parents taking photos of children sliding on the dunes


Rolling down the dune


View from the top

And then Bob wrote

"Key West or Bust" in the sand,

We walked back to the cars

Walking back barefoot




and then we sat down and brushed off our feet


or shook the sand out of our shoes



And got back in the car and drove onward.

Durango to Wolf Creek Pass 84 miles 2 hours
Wolf Creek Pass to Sand Dunes 97 miles 3 hours

I don't know where we spent the night