Tag: National Park to Park Highway

Mesa Verde National Park Photo Journal

Mesa Verde National Park is not only one of the first National Parks in the US, it’s also a World Heritage Site. I can see why. Exploring the ancient homes of the Ancestral Pueblo people was like stepping back in time. This was a great stop on our National Park to Park Highway tour.
It’s called Mesa Verde for a good reason. Look at all that green.
Little G explores Balcony House

High steppin’

Kiva
Cliff Palace

Wetherill Mesa

Sometimes you have to stop and look at a bug

Wildfire

What to Do With Kids at Great Sand Dunes National Park

On this National Park to Park Highway adventure, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve was a welcome respite after the crowds at Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone National Parks. This park is more remote and less developed than most National Parks we’ve visited which meant that we found some of the solitude we’ve come to associate with being in the outdoors.
Great Sand Dunes has fewer developed trails and roads because the main attraction is the field of giant sand dunes the park was established to protect, including the tallest sand dune in North America. You wouldn’t think a mountain of sand would appear between the plains and mountains of Colorado, without a drop of ocean in sight, but they’re there and lots of fun to play in.

If you’re planning a trip to Great Sand Dunes be sure to bring bug spray. The mosquitoes were nasty in the campground and on the hike to the dunes. Once on the dunes the breeze and lack of vegetation kept the blood sucking beasts away.
In addition to climbing dunes, sand sledding and castle building, enjoy these activities at Great Sand Dunes Park and Preserve.
Sled Down a Sand Mountain Missing the winter? Try sliding down a mountain of sand on a sled or sand board. Rent one at the private campground just outside of the park entrance or bring your own. Be sure to get out in the early morning or evening – the afternoon sand can reach temperatures of 150 degrees.

Splash in Medano Creek – Flowing from the mountains down past the sand dunes is a shallow crreek that is a blast to play in. When the water is high you can float on intertubes, but that’s only during spring runoff in May and June. Even if the water is only a few inches deep it’s worth splashing in.
Camp at Pinon Flats Campground The only developed campground at this park has 88 sites, flush toilets, dishwashing sinks, paths down to the sand dunes and the dune overlook and wildlife aplenty. Deer wandered through the campground along with rabbits, birds and unfortunately a million and a half mosquitos.

Enjoy the Interactive Exhibits at the Visitor Center – I’ve been to several National Park visitor centers and this one was definitely my favorite. The interactive exhibits were great for both kids and adults and they offer a junior ranger backpack you can use to explore the park.

Hike Past the Point of No Return Most visitors explore the sand dunes after a short half mile hike near the visitors center. We drove up to the Point of No Return parking area and hiked to the Sand Pit picnic area. For three hours we had the place to ourselves with plenty of room to climb, slide, dig and build in the sand dunes and creek. Watch out for hot sand both on the dunes and hiking out – our toes did not appreciate the burning on the walk out.

Zapata Falls About 10 miles south of the park is a rough gravel road leading to a hidden water fall. Zapata Falls was a rocky half mile hike round trip to a beautiful but freezing cold water fall. It felt great on a hot summer day, except that the water was so cold my toes took 20 minutes to thaw completely.
Have a 4WD adventure on the Primitive Road The road between the Sand Dunes and the Sangre de Cristo mountains is a primitive sand and gravel road that requires a high clearance 4WD vehicle and lowered tire pressure. I would’ve loved to have our UTV to explore this bit of wilderness but unfortunately off road vehicles aren’t allowed in National Parks. If you have a jeep or other 4WD truck this would be a fun drive.

Great Sand Dunes National Park Photo Journal

Our National Park to Park Highway tour visits more than the twelve National Parks the 1920s group visited. This one, Great Sand Dunes National Park was like going to the beach, only without the ocean. Enjoy scenes from this unique park that protects the largest sand dune in North America. Just be glad you weren’t there to get attacked by mosquitoes. I counted 25 bites on my calf alone by the time we left.
Medano Creek
Moon over the Dunes
Sand and El Sangre de Cristo Mountains

Tots in the distance
Little G

Footprints in the sand
Sand castles and creek crawling
Zapata Falls just outside of the Park
The tots explore
Baby L
Mountain Dad in the freezing water

Go Jump in a Lake!

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If Mountain Dad had an outdoor super power it would be finding swimming holes in whatever place we go. Back on our practice trip to Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks we beat the heat by splashing in the Virgin River and exploring behind the waterfall at Mossy Cave. In Yellowstone we swam in the boiling river near Mammoth, the Firehole River swim area and found a secret spot just down river from Ojo Caliente hot spring.

Water is a main attraction on this National Park to Park Highway trip. For that reason I was glad when Safe Spash swim school approached me to review their program a month before we left. Big E and Little G have taken swim lessons before, but Safe Splash’s program is a little different. Instead of a two week intensive swim camp where your kid may or may not advance to the next level, SafeSplash offers weekly classes a lot like piano lessons. Kids go once a week and move up in levels once they’ve accomplished all the skills.

When walking into the swim lessons for the fist time Big E and Little g started complaining. “Why do we have to take swimming lessons?”

I immediately replied, “It’s a life skill.” Swimming is one of the five areas in which I choose to be a pusher parent. It’s a good skill for life, and given Mountain Dad’s love of wild swimming holes, one we will use a lot in our outdoor adventures.
I had to smile when we walked into the 24 Hour Fitness Center and saw the Safe Splash poster that said the exact same thing. See, I’m not the only one. Safe Splash gets it.

What I liked about the Safe Splash program were the small class sizes. No more than four students are allowed at once so that the teacher can give individual attention to each one. I especially liked that for Little G. At only four and a half she still is not trustworthy around water, we always have her in a life jacket at lakes or rivers. She had a watchful teacher that helped her learn to back float on her own, even though it was scary.

Safe Splash is serious about safety, with a deck supervisor on hand to act as a lifeguard and swim teacher assistant. I liked knowing someone else was watching out for my kids.

I thought the $65 per month price tag (less with each additional child) was a bit steep compared to the local rec center lessons we had last year, but the quality of instruction was good. I also would’ve preferred to schedule the lessons online instead of having a Safe Splash employee call to coordinate with my schedule. With that said, they were very adaptable especially when we had to schedule around our practice National Parkto Park Highway trip.

I’ve appreciated their swimming skills on this trip and thanks to one of our trip sponsors I’ve been able to record everything they’re doing. Intova sent me their entry level waterproof camera and I’ve enjoyed putting it to use.

The small Intova Duo Waterproof Camera fits inside a waterproof case that fastens with a wrist strap for gnarly adventures. The big buttons on the top are easy for even kids to use and the quality of the photos are decent. Plus the price can’t be beat – less than $40.

What I don’t like is that you have to open the waterproof case to change from photo to video mode. It’d be super easy to drop that tiny camera in the water while you’re switching modes. Also, there’s no zoom option so you have to move closer or farther from what you’re shooting – not always easily done while splashing in a river or lake.
Because of the big easy-to-use buttons on the Intova Duo Waterproof Camera, on our Zion trip I took thirty minutes of video of the inside of my pocket and had a dead battery when we got to the secret swimming hole we hiked to. That wouldn’t be a big deal except that the charge cord is Mini USB not Micro USB like the rest of the universe. I had to wait until home before I could charge it again.
Overall I’m grateful to have a waterproof camera, but with my smart phone being water resistant it’s not essential.

Water splashing, swimming, exploring is a big part of summer. With an ocean stop scheduled on this trip, I look forward to swimming with my tots in the water and I’m glad we can capture each moment.

Intova is a National Park to Park Highway tour sponsor. Click here to view all of our sponsors.