GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL MONUMENT (July 4, 2004)

We stayed at the Sand Dunes Oasis RV Park just outside the entrance to the Sand Dunes Monument.  They had 20 full hookups, pull-through sites.  We camped on site 13.
 

Here is the customary family photo at the entrance sign.  Fee to enter was only $3 per person over the age of 17, and that admission was good for a week.  So for $6, we were in for the weekend.
 

Look at all that sand!  Was it trucked in from California beaches?  Not quite.  Look how the people look like ants on the dunes.  Melea, Kendal, and Cameron hiked all the way to the second peak on the left of this picture.  Dad stayed back with Courtney and played with her in the river.
 

The girls are getting ready to trek the sand on our first day.  Kendal thought she could "sand board" down the dunes.  Didn't work to well.  We met a family from Texas who hauled snowboards to Colorado just for the Dunes.  They didn't have any luck "catching big sand" either.
 

Here we go!  Are we at the top yet?
 

Kids rolling down the Dunes.  What a great way to get sand in your shorts!
 

On day two, Dad stayed at the river with Courtney while the other three hiked to the top of the Dunes.  Courtney shows off the "cake" she made.

 

When Cameron and Kendal returned from their trek up the dunes, they were hungry and hot.  So they ate some lunch, then changed into their suits and played in the sand along the river next to the Dunes.
 

Cameron and Dad buried their feet in the river and pretended to be stuck!

 

Back at the camper, the kids played a mean game of Denveropoly.  Cameron was the eventual winner.

 

Mom was elected the most honest of the players and played the role of banker.  Dad made sure the banker had an adequate supply of beer to perform her duties.

 

This is dinner time on our last night.  Dad grilled steaks over charcoal.  For this meal, we used the special "food compartment" plates that the kids like so much.

 

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