Yesterday, I drove from Denver to Great Sand Dunes National Park. Since the drive is relatively short (4 hours) and Great Sand Dunes is a very small park (while at many parks, you want AT LEAST one day, Great Sand Dunes can be seen well much quicker. There's really only one place to get out of the car and look around), I decided to take myself to the Denver Zoo in the morning. Part of that decision came from seeing a picture my mother shared of a Malayan Tapir Calf (who sadly was not on display, although I believe the mother was) but part of it also came from the fact that I had not been to a zoo for five years (I believe the last zoo I was at was the National Zoo in Washington DC, which is wonderful, on a school field trip in 8th grade).
I got to the zoo around 9:30am and spent around 3 hours looking around and seeing the animals. I was wowed by seeing the big cats. The games some of the hyenas were playing reminded me of games that my dog would play (although I don't think Ike should play with hyenas). I always enjoy seeing sea otters, sea lions, and primates. Overall, the Denver Zoo was a very enjoyable experience. Some photo highlights are below:
After seeing the zoo, I headed out of Denver and towards the Great Sand Dunes, making a few unexciting stops on the way for lunch, gas, and firewood. I got to the Great Sand Dunes at around 5:30pm. I first stopped at the Visitor's Center, where there is a balcony where you can look out at the dunes. I then went to the Dunes Parking Lot and walked out onto the dunes. The view out on the dunes is beautiful and it is very refreshing to take your shoes off to walk through the water that flows through at the base (?--not sure if that is correct geological terminology) of the dunes. I then walked up a bit on one of the dunes (a few adventurous people walk to the top). I probably spent 30-45 minutes enjoying the dunes.
I then headed to dinner at a restaurant (which also has a connected convenience store/gift shop, hotel, and campground (although I stayed at the cheaper campground in the park)) right at the entrance to the park as it is the only restaurant within 25 miles. Despite having no competition, the prices are rather reasonable and the quality was more than passable.
After dinner, I headed back into the park to set up my campsite. Despite the fact that it was raining (lightly), I set up a campfire and was able to keep it going for around an hour. When it started raining more heavily around 10:00pm, I went to bed.
Next Stop (where I am writing this right now and will post more about tonight): Albuquerque, NM
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