Mississippi River Trip: Like Sands in the Hourglass. . .

. . .so are the sands of the Great Sand Dune National Park.  We hit Great Sand Dunes National Park in the late afternoon with the temperature hovering around 102.  We checked out the campground, and then hounded the rangers for some alternate camping options.  GSD was crowded and high priced.  One ranger suggested we head up to the BLM campground at Zapata Falls, about eight miles from the park.  Our plan was to go there, get set up, and catch the dunes as the sun was setting. 

The campground was easy enough to find – go straight from the park and hang a left at the sign.  The road was a little rough so I took it slowly, not wanting to subject the Impala to any more abuse than she had gotten so far this trip (Earlier in the day we calculated that we’d put 6 months of mileage on her in 30 days).  At the top we drove around looking for a campsite – not because of crowding but because most didn’t have any shade.  Larisa found one she wanted that sat on the edge of the campground on an exposed point.  I worried about wind, but finally decided to set up in the place because of the fantastic view and because Larisa began talking in that tone of voice tha tells me it’s time to feed her.  We didn’t eat at the tent though – bear activity is very high in that area and there were several spotted in the campground area.  We elected instead to take our meal at an overlook point near the trail to the falls.  We munched cheese and crackers and fruit and enjoyed a spectacular view of the valley below – including the great sand dunes themselves. 

Both of us were a little stiff and grumpy from being in the car all day, so we decided to take the short hike up to Zapata Falls instead of getting back in the car to go see the park.  As we were gathering our cameras and water a family coming down from the falls began chatting with us.  They told us the not well kept “secret” of the falls.  When you arrive at the end of the trail there is a small waterfall about 6 feet high.  The actual falls require another quarter mile of rock hopping to a cleft in the rocks.  When you go through the cleft you are rewarded with a beautiful 40 foot high waterfall that feeds into a small pool with a 10 or 12 foot waterfall at the base.  Also, you get treated to a cool blast of nature’s air conditioning.

In the cave and leading up to it the temperature drops about thirty degrees thanks to the air displaced by the glacier fed waters to the falls.  The water is very cold – so much so that after standing in it for a couple of minutes to snap pictures both Larisa and I had toes so chilly that they hurt.  We took what pictures the light would allow and went to sit near the end of the hiking area to let our toes warm up.  As the sun began to go down we went back to the overlook and watched the sun set on the valley from our 1500 foot vantage point.  Tired and satisfied, we went back to camp and slept peacefully. . . until the wind came up.

I’ve mentioned it before, but our tent is noisy when it’s windy.  When we get winds like we got that night, it sounds like a freight train coming through.  I managed to sleep well enough, but Larisa kept waking up when the rainfly would catch a gust and deliver a flat crack like a rifle shot.  Remember what I said about letting her pick the first site?  We moved the next day.   And, of course, the night was calm as a church.