Arches, Great Sand Dunes, Pike's Peak, Monument Rocks!

After going through the San Rafael Reef area of Interstate 70, we continued eastbound until exit 182 Moab. From there we drove into Moab, passing the Arches entrance so we could fill up on gas. 

Arches National Park!

Flowers along the way.

As we made our way back to the park, of course you have to stop at the gate and pay your entrance fee, (which we had already obtained an annual pass in the beginning of our trip) the road winds up the side of a mountain where we made our first stop at the Park Avenue viewpoint, we then went to the La Sal Mountains viewpoint, Courthouse Towers viewpoint, Tower of Babel, Petrified Dunes, Balanced Rock, Garden of Eden, Wolfe Ranch, Delicate Arch viewpoint, Fiery Furnace, Salt Valley overlook, Sand Dune arch, Pine Tree Arch, and Tunnel Arch. After doing some hiking at the viewpoints, and much picture taking, it started getting dark, it was around 7:30 pm, so we headed out of the park, leaving behind some parts of the park we never made it to (The Devils Garden and Klondike Bluffs) and headed south on 191.


Now the video I did does not have the pictures in the order I took them, but you can get an idea of what the park is like from them. I really enjoyed the views at this park. I would go back to all the parks I have visited if I had the time to do more sightseeing by hiking! When you do most of the trip in a car, you do see a lot, but you also miss a lot. I always say I need to spend more time at one park, but there are so many to visit, I want to see them All, lol!

We also past up going to Canyonland National Park. The entrance to that was not far from Arches. I really wanted to go, but that would have been another night and whole day in that same area, and we were already cutting it close to get back home for babysitting our Grandchild. Or, that could just be an excuse to go back to that area again someday!

Flowers along the way.

As we drove down 191 we stopped to spend the night in Monticello, Utah at a motel. In the morning we got up and headed southeast on 491, going through Dove Creek, Colorado, then getting onto 160 in Cortez heading east. We passed through Durango, where we stopped at a Walmart for some fruit and snacks, then continued east through Pagosa Springs, going through Wolf Creek Pass, stopping to take a picture of Treasure Falls. 

Treasure Falls!

Treasure Falls is at the western base of Wolf Creek Pass, it can be viewed from US Highway 160 northeast of Pagosa Springs. A trail leads to the falls, but when we were there, the hiking trail was closed at the time. I think it got washed out by the looks of it.

Up around the bend from Treasure Falls, I stopped to take these pictures before continuing on to Alamosa, and from there, to The Great Sand Dunes National Park.

Great Sand Dunes National Park!

We got to the park pretty late in the afternoon, I believe it was around 3:30, it was a long drive getting there from Monticello, Utah. The road out to the park was very long and desolate looking in places, then we started passing Potatoes, yes, potato fields as far as you can see, on both sides of the road. I never knew Colorado grow so many potatoes. 

Some fields were plowed and very dusty, others were bright green and thriving (with continuous watering) because it is so dry there. 

It was hot that day, I had on shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt, and yet, as you looked out around you, all the mountains had snow on them. Not being from the west, it was just unusual to me. Last time, two years ago when we were out west, it was late July, and I didn't see any snow on mountains like that. Beautiful sight though.

The Park itself isn't that big, but the dunes were great. You could spend all day climbing them if you wanted. The views from the top of the dunes were awesome, and the deep valley's in the dunes were pretty cool as well.


The park contains the tallest sand dunes in North America, some rising about 750 feet from the valley floor, covering about 19,000 acres . Researchers say that the dunes started forming less than 440,000 years ago.
The dunes were formed from sand and soil deposits of the Rio Grande and its tributaries, flowing through the San Luis Valley. Over the ages, westerly winds picked up sand particles from the river flood plain, and as the wind lost power before crossing the Sangre de Cristo Range, the sand was deposited on the east edge of the valley. This process continues, and the dunes are still growing slowly. The wind changes the shape of the dunes daily, and at times, it was windy enough for me to feel the effects of the blowing sand. I tried to capture it in some of the pictures.

There are several streams flowing on the perimeter of the dunes. The streams erode the edge of the dune field, and sand is carried downstream. The water disappears into the ground, depositing sand on the surface. Winds pick up the deposits of sand, and blow them up onto the dune field once again.


We were there for about two hours, took my usual pictures, hiked to the top of one of the tallest dunes there, then we headed out of the park up towards Colorado Springs to catch Interstate 70 east to make a stop in Kansas to see the Monument Rocks. 

Pike's Peak!

All aboard!

As we were driving we saw signs for the Pike's Peak train ride. You know what that meant! Yes, we had to go on the train and go to the top of Pike's Peak! So we got a nice motel in Colorado Springs that night, and in the morning, made our way over to Manitou Springs where you board the Cog Train. http://cograilway.com/ In case you want to look it up. We were lucky to get on, we didn't have a reservation and almost all seats were taken already. We had to sit in different aisles to get on, but hey, we wanted on! We didn't know at the time, they have a road built that goes all the way up. Had I known that, I probably would have gone that route, more adventurous you know! The road does not have any guard rails, and you are right there, if you know what I mean. I am sure it was much easier on the car not to do it. There would be a lot of wear on the brakes I would imagine! 


If you go on the train, I must make a suggestion, TRY TO GET A WINDOW SEAT. It was hard getting pictures with so many people in the way. You are not aloud in the Isles to take pictures, or for any reason for that matter. One of the reasons for this is that the train can stop in 3 seconds, yes three seconds, guess where you would go! And it actually happened on the way down. And it really was within 3 seconds. They said it was a computer glitch! True story! 


You may be thinking, what if there was a computer glitch and there were no breaks, not to worry, as they told us they have three backups, two on the train, and if they fail, they have two giant springs at the bottom to stop the train. Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs!  : >]

Monument Rocks in Kansas!

To get to the Monument Rocks in Lewis you get off Interstate70 onto 83. Once you are on 83 you go about 25 miles south, you will see a large sign for it on your right, there is a dirt road on your left, that's right, you have to go down dirt roads to get to it. Go 4 miles down that dirt road and at the T, turn right and go two more miles down that dirt road, and there you go, you found them. Now this is private property, and they do allow visitors, so be respectful of that, so others can enjoy them in the future also. Oh, and one more thing, watch out for the cows crossing the road, and slow down over the cattle grates!

Monument Rocks.

Monument Rocks.

Monument Rocks.

Monument Rocks.

That pretty much sums up our trip. I already posted the end of the trip in Missouri and home with all the pics from them.  

I hope you enjoyed our adventures and I hope you will continue to read my blog. Thank You, Mike!