The Great Sand Dunes National Park and some interesting nearby sites
Continuing with our cabin fever day trips, today we visited the Great Sand Dunes National Park and a couple of other places that were pretty unique. Why go to North America’s largest kitty box? Well, there’s more to the dunes than just sand, and certainly not any Lincoln Logs buried there.
The Dunes are one of America’s great national parks. Established in 1932 by President Hoover, the park encompassed some 35,500 acres. Over the years the park size has been increased to include the Sangre de Cristo Range and now covers some 149,000 acres. Formed thousands of years ago when what was at that time Lake Alamosa, collapsed into a volcanic chasm draining the lake and forming a dry bed. Winds blew the residual sand towards the mountains where it collected onto hills. Later during the storm season, the winds blew the other direction forming ridges or mountains of sand. To the best of anyone’s knowledge, that’s how it was formed.
But these are no ordinary sand dunes, these are the highest sand dunes in North America! The highest peak is 750 feet from the base and known as, “Star Dune”. The “High Dune” rises 699 feet above the base and is actually higher than Star Dune due to starting at a higher base. That’s not very high, you say! Well, add in the fact that the base of the dunes is around 7,600’ and now you’re over 8,000’ in elevation! At their widest part the Dunes span some 6 miles and are some 8 miles long!
For those wishing to explore the area there are plenty of trails for hiking, horseback riding, biking (on paved roads) or if you have an OHV, try taking the Medano Pass Primitive road over a 10,000’ pass. High clearance and 4-wheel drive are required!
But if you’re looking for a more relaxed type of adventure, try sand boarding or sand sledding. There are several shops in the nearby towns of Blanca and Hooper that rent equipment specifically designed for sand. Keep in mind that the sand can be hot, around 1500 in the summer, so good boots or shoes are a must. Oh, and water, bring lots of water for the hike up the mountain. Instead of the 1-hour hike to the top, we decided to walk to the first ridge and enjoy watching the boarders trudge up the sand.
We drove back to see this rock thinking it was of geological importance. Nope! Just a monument to Bill Casselman, local conservationist
Onward to the next part of our day trip, the museum at Fort Garland, one of Colorado’s early settler forts. The drive from the Great Sand Dunes takes about 30 minutes through some high desert landscape. From 1800 to 1880, more than 35 forts dotted Colorado. Some for a few years and some, like Fort Garland, for more than 25 years.
The beauty behind the mask!
Fort Garland was built in 1858 to replace Fort Massachusetts. Fort Massachusetts had been built in the San Luis Valley on the banks of the Ute river. It was later discovered that the area was too marshy to sustain a fort and being at the base of the mountains, very difficult to protect from Indian raids. So, after 6 years of dealing with these problems, the government decided to abandon Fort Massachusetts and build a new fort about 9 miles away.
Fort Garland was built to house over 200 men in 20 adobe buildings. For the enlisted men life was a bit cramped. Bunks in the enlisted quarters held two men sleeping head to toe, while the officer’s quarters men slept in single beds. All soldiers were required to bathe at least once every month, whether they needed it or not. Food was not the best, weather conditions could be harsh and the work could be hard as well, not to mention the occasional attack by Indians. No wonder that over the 25 years Fort Garland was in business that over 400 men deserted! The penalty for desertion was death so you know the conditions had to be pretty bad for a man to risk death just to get away.
The fort played a key role in the Civil War. The Battle of Glorieta Pass, known as the Gettysburg of the West, was a decisive battle between the two companies of Colorado Volunteers from Fort Garland and the Texas Confederate army. The main battle was fought on 28 March 1862 and although the Confederates were able to push the Union soldiers back to the pass, with the destruction of their supply train, pack animals and horses, they ultimately had to retreat back to Arizona and then on to Texas. Not exactly like Gettysburg but it did stop the advance of the Confederate army in the West.
May of 1866, a new commander took over at Fort Garland, Colonel Kit Carson. The Ute tribe had increased their attacks on civilians in San Luis Valley and Col. Carson was deemed the best man to find a peaceful solution to these attacks. Which he did. In 1867 Col. Carson negotiated a peace treaty with Chief Ouray of the Ute tribe. Col. Carson, his wife Josefa and their 7 children, lived in Fort Carson until November 1867 when Col. Carson was removed from service due to illness.
From 1876 to 1879 the fort was home to the 9th Calvary buffalo soldiers. These black soldiers were instrumental in resolving disputes between settlers and the Utes. The fort was abandoned in 1883 after the Utes were relocated to reservations in Colorado and Utah.
That’s enough history, the museum consists of 5 of the original buildings surrounding the parade grounds. In these buildings are recreated amenities depicting military life in the 1800’s. Cannons, clothing, rifles and other relics from that era are on display as well as excellent documentation describing the conditions and key people from the fort’s history. Cost to enter is $5.00; $4.50 for 65 and over.
Enlisted barracks
Parade grounds with original flagpole (1851)
Meeting Hall
Enlisted Barracks (two people per bed)
Interesting terms
Continuing on to our next stop, the Shrine of the Stations of the Cross in the town of San Luis. About 20 minutes from Fort Garland is the small town of San Luis. Billed as the oldest town in Colorado, founded in 1851, San Luis is home to a unique religious setting, the Shrine of the Stations of the Cross. The “Shrine” is actually a walk leading up the hillside to the chapel with the 14 Stations of the Cross depicted in bronze castings along the way. The castings were made by the local artist, Hubert Maestas.
Walkway to the Stations of the Cross
After this brief stop, on to the last site for our day trip, Cano’s Castle in Antonio, Colorado. This is a very unique “castle” in that is built using beer cans, hub caps, bike reflectors, and pieces of aluminum. Unique is an understatement. Consisting of four structures, “the King”, “the Queen”, “the Palace” and “the Rook”, Cano’s Castle is a testament to ingenuity. Built entirely by Dominic “Cano” Espinoza, a Native American Vietnam veteran, as a tribute to surviving his time in Vietnam. Cano says that Jesus lives in the “castle” while he lives across the street in a trailer. Best beer can folk art we’ve seen in Colorado.
Cano’s Castle
Isn’t it amazing what someone can do with beer cans!
Next trip, Grand Lake. Monday we’ll hit the road again, this time for Grand Lake via Kremmling, through the Hot Sulphur Springs, on to Granby and Grand Lake, then back home through Tabernash and Winter Park. A little over 5 hours not counting stops for pictures and stretches. Till then………..