#298: San Luis Valley

Great Sand Dunes and the Rio Grande

I finally got up to Great Sand Dunes, in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado, in May. I knew I was likely to see Medano Creek flowing through the dunes and wasn’t disappointed.

Medano Creek flowing through Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

The water was only a couple of inches deep while I was there, unusually shallow due to a fairly dry winter, but beautiful nonetheless.

Light and shadow on the dunes

Great Sand Dunes is my all-time favorite national park. The light constantly shifts and changes, often quite dramatically.

Storm clouds over the dunes (middle distance)

And the clouds! They aren’t always there but when they are … wow!

Looking north at the Costilla Crossing bridge over the Rio Grande

It’s not just the sand dunes that beckon me; I like all of the San Luis Valley quite a bit. I had never before seen the Costilla Crossing bridge and was fascinated by it. It’s out in what appears to be the sparsely populated northern portion of the Taos Plateau, and is Colorado’s southernmost crossing of the Rio Grande.