Today’s edition of musing is actually taking place on Friday. I took a vacation day to visit the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Mother Nature had other ideas. It has rained quite a bit since Wednesday afternoon and it’s pouring right now. I put off going to the park till this weekend because of the recommendation to go in the morning. Before the sand reaches its normal 150 degrees or the afternoon thunderstorms hit. An 8 mile hike on the dunes is probably wise to do in the morning. The good news is that the rain is expected to be out this afternoon and tomorrow is expected to be mostly sunny.
So I’m sitting here listening to the rain, having coffee and reflecting on this journey so far. I’m currently in Del Norte, CO. I’m at Woods and River RV Park and my site is right on the Rio Grande River. It’s been such a nice week. I had really been pushing myself to get hikes and other activities in. To be honest by last week I was starting to get a little fatigued. I’ve taken this week very easy, spending evenings in the cool air sitting in front of the river. I have a shady spot with a great view and it has felt more like camping than any stop in a while.
So some takeaways from my National Park Blitz.
- I didn’t do enough research ahead of time but I still managed to get in some great days at the parks.
- When you only have a week and you work full time, weather can impact your planned activities and make you miss something on your list.
- I should have looked more at what I might want to see between parks. I was so focused on booking sites near the parks. I didn’t research what was between.
- I wish I had booked a week of just camping somewhere between every two parks. Just chill and enjoy nature.
- I’ve learned so much from the locals. I’ve been taking notes for the future. You should go sit at a local hangout at the bar on your first night so you can find out the things that are not online. How active are the bears right now. Snakes are not an issue at this altitude or they are very active right now etc.
- Mexican restaurants in these small towns in Utah and Colorado are mostly not good. Moab had a really good one. In Utah they use nacho cheese instead of queso. Yuck!
- Tex-Mex in Texas is amazing!
- Most restaurants in these small towns are not very good and most lack a true grocery store. Stock up before you get there and cook yourself.
- Utah craft beer on the whole is average.
- Be prepared. It may be in the 80’s one day and snowing the next. The altitude matters. You can drive less than an hour away and the average temperature changes by 10-20 degrees.
- Dry heat does make a difference. I’ve spent my life in high humidity. Low humidity is wonderful even at 99 degrees.
- I know why people want to live here now and I will spend part of each year out here somewhere.
- I’m amazed the settlers made it out here. I have a whole new admiration for the people who traversed this land in wagons and for the Native Americans that called this place home.
Ironically, I listen to a history podcast and they just happened to do a series on Custer and the Plains Indians. I’m driving through areas surrounded by reservations and terrain similar to what is being discussed. It is truly sad what happened during that time. I’m not saying that Americans of that time were bad people, though just like today some were. They were living to what was considered acceptable at the time. We cannot apply our morals, changed by 100+ years of growth, to people of that time.
I’m happy that we understand today that it was horrible. I will say it adds some context to be traveling some of the same land while listening to the history. I actually spent an evening talking to a Native American named Walter who lives on a reservation. You can’t help but feel regret for what happened to these people. It makes me think how horrible humans truly are. Everyone on this planet is a Homo sapien yet we view others as different.
It’s also somewhat ironic that I started watching 1883 last night. I like that I have actually seen the land people crossed the hard way. You don’t understand how rugged it actually was till you see it up close. This terrain is truly unforgiving.
Which brings me to my other thought. You don’t see the country flying to your destination. Driving from on campsite to the next you see how the land changes over what are really short distances. Out here you can see so far most of the time. It’s truly time well spent behind the wheel. If you get the chance travel by land.