Great Sand Dunes NP, CO

Sunrise over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, above and below.

The Dunes are at the base of the Mountains.

We'd been looking for a rest stop or a park or a wide spot in the road along US 285 where we could stop for lunch and walk the dogs.  Saw this huge empty parking lot fronting some school buildings so we pulled in and parked.

We'd been there 10 minutes, heard someone outside say, "Hello?"  A clean cut guy of about 35, nicely dressed in business casual, introduced himself, said he was the school superintendent, asked if we were in trouble, needed any help.  Nope, just stopped for lunch.  We chatted awhile, told him where we'd been, said we were headed for Great Sand Dunes.  He called it a geological oxymoron; never heard that one before, had to include it here.

Bronze plaque near visitor center entrance; 3' diameter.

Below: view of dunes from visitor center.

This shallow seasonal creek will dry up soon, after all the snow is melted.  

Very popular with the kids.

Above and below pix taken at the same spot, the one above taken at max zoom (10X).  People climb to the top of dunes and slide down on plastic saucers and rental boards

We would have gladly complied with this directive but didn't have a shovel.