Johns Trippin'

San Luis State Wildlife Area was an old State Park that was changed into a wildlife area. It's not being maintained anymore but the campground was still open. It's first come, first served, and it's a great place. Plus, it's super close to Great Sand Dunes NP. It's so close, we got a 50 Amp site, there's a great view towards the dunes, there wasn't a fire burn ban, and we were close to Blanca peak (the fourth highest mountain in the Rockies). What's not to like? Well perhaps the fact that we didn't have laundry or water and that we were going to a national park where the main thing is sand. In fact, there isn't a scenic drive there! You just park in the great sand dunes parking lot and walk to the sand dunes. The accessible part is pretty much all sand dunes  Walking in sand is tiring. And it's a .3 mile walk across sand just to get to the start of the dunes. The day we got to San Luis Wilderness Area we went to Great Sand Dunes NP . There wa...

Where would you go if you wanted to find the biggest sand dunes in North America? You'd find the biggest sand dunes in North America in southern Colorado, of course, right at the base of the Rocky Mountains. This is an interesting park. It's quite small, and the dunes are pretty much the only feature. There's no scenic drive, there are very few hikes to speak of, but there are 30 square miles of sand dunes, and they are quite tall which was great after our last visit to a park with "Dunes" in the name that left the kids disappointed in the lack of large dunes. This picture doesn't do justice to the sheer amount of sand So what did we do? We played in the sand, of course! Our campsite was within sight of the dunes, so we visited multiple times during the week. Our first visit was a tad breezy. This is fairly normal, and it actually explains why the dunes are here. Two creeks carry sand out of the mountains, and there is a prevailing southwesterly wind that pus...

When we arrived at Ancient Cedars RV park it was in the afternoon. After we got there we tried to go to Four Corners monument but it was closed due to "winter hours." I mean, come on, it's not even winter yet! After we tried to go to Four Corners we got pizza, went back to the RV and watched a movie and then went to bed. The next day we went to Mesa Verde National Park. The national park was known for its cliff dwellings lived in by ancient Pueblo Indians. The cliff dwellings looked like this... Cliff Palace (the famous cliff dwelling) Some other cliff dwelling After Mesa Verde I went with dad to the store but there was so much stuff that we couldn't get it all that night, so we went home had dinner and went to bed. The next few days we had school but then one day we did mini golf and went to Mesa Verde again and did the other part of the scenic loop. After that we went back to the RV and watched a movie then went to bed. The next day we went horseback riding! We went...

What do you think of what you hear "National Park?" Wilderness? Wide open spaces? Lack of human impact? Those are the things I think of, and that's pretty much what we've experienced at the parks to date. Mesa Verde National Park is different. It's the only national park devoted to a people and period in human history, the Ancestral Puebloans (previously, and incorrectly, called the Anasazi) in this case. Don't get me wrong – there is plenty of wilderness and wipe open spaces at Mesa Verde – but those are not the main attraction. From ~500 AD to ~1200 AD, there were human inhabitants in the Mesa Verde ("green table" in Spanish) area. They started with rudimentary pit houses, graduating to increasingly complex structures, and finally ending up in cliff dwellings before abandoning the area and moving south (no one knows why). It was quite impressive what they were able to pull off using mud and sandstone (they did not have metal tools). Even thought th...

We arrived at Duke's Slickrock RV Park around 5 o'clock. When we got there we brought the rabbits outside. But two cats came over, so we put the rabbits back inside. One cat was named Snowra. They were very cute. We played with them almost every day. They let us hold them.  The cat knows when to look at the camera The cat liked my rabbit bed The cat liked to lay down on people This is a lazy cat The cat is playing with a rope We also went to Capitol Reef National Park. My favorite part in Capitol Reef National Park was the Grand Wash Trail. It went into a slot canyon. At Sunset Point, I was cold and I loved it. I climbed a big rock.  I am that white splotch by dad. Caleb did his bake sale here. One guy even came over and said ''Give me 20 dollars worth of stuff.'' Caleb gave him 6 cupcakes, 5 brownies, and 12 cookies.