In April, a few friends and I drove 3.5 hours south of Denver to one of the most magical places I have ever been. Great Sand Dunes National Park is 30 square miles of SAND and home to the tallest sand dunes in North America. The dunes were formed by wind blowing sand from the dried up lake that was the San Luis Valley. The San Di Cristo mountains are situated perfectly such that wind blowing across the valley deposits sand there before going over the mountains. The juxtaposition of these giant sand dunes against green hills and snow-capped mountain tops, is phenomenal. It is far and away one of the most amazing works of nature I have ever seen. We spent about 4 hours exploring the sand dunes, but we could have easily spent all day there.
The last hour of the day was the most beautiful, the sun came out and lit up the valley. Unfortunately, all of our phones had died as well as my point in shoot, sand and retractable lens do not mix. I wanted so badly to take a picture and capture the perfect lighting. When we got back to the car I juiced up my phone and got out my Canon Rebel to snap the rest of the nights photos of course, it too died before I could set up my tripod for night photography. We camped nearby at Zapata Falls. The view from our campsite overlooking the San Luis valley at sunset was breathtaking. Colorado, I am so happy we found each other.