After our stay in Amarillo, our family drove to colorful Colorado. Our first stop was doing this mile-long hike to Zapata Falls in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near Great Sand Dunes. The hike up was very rocky!
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Once we reached the river, we realized that the only way to view the waterfall was to wade through the water...
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...so in we went!
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The water felt chilly, but the kids thought it was great fun to get their shoes and socks completely soaked!
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The info we had read online claimed Zapata Falls was a 25-foot waterfall, so it was a little disappointing to find a much smaller falls at the end of our hike. It was still pretty, however, plus nice and cool. Traversing through the water was definitely a fun memory too.
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On the hike down, we glimpsed some beautiful views of the Great Sand Dunes!
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This national park, Great Sand Dunes NP and Preserve, was our destination the next morning. The time zone difference worked in our favor, as we were able to eat breakfast, fully check out of our hotel, drive the 45-minutes from our hotel, and still arrive at the dunes by shortly after 7:00!
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We picked up sand sleds the previous day from an outdoor sports store near our hotel. These made our day at the dunes extra exciting!
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There was a bit of a learning curve figuring out the best hills to slide down, how to position ourselves on the sled, and how much wax to put on our sleds, but once we got the hang of it, we all had a blast sledding down the hills!
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Some action videos!
Even Adley started going down the hills by herself at the end! What a fearless girl!
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Trudging back up these huge hills was a different story... We sure got our exercise in on this day! These kids are blessed to have a strong, caring dad who carried their sleds on many of the uphill trips.
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We all marveled in the beauty of God's handiwork at this national park. What an amazing sight to see these immense sand dunes! If you zoom in closely on the photo below, you might be able to recognize the two boys climbing up the faraway hill.
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In addition to sledding, Adley found some other fun ways to play in the sand.
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What a uniquely beautiful place!
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Since the visitors center wasn't yet open when we arrived at the park, our family stopped by on our way out so that we could pick up a Jr. Ranger booklet. Only Adley was interested in completing the activities. Once done, she was very proud to do the pledge and receive her first Jr. Ranger badge.
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We loved our time at this National Park!
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After our early, active morning, we decided that an ice cream treat was in order. We found a fun local shop in Alamosa that sold hand-rolled ice cream. This was a first for all of us. We were very intrigued by the process and found the ice cream deee-licious!
Notice our little girl covered in sand??
What a great ending to a great day!
Looks so fun. I enjoyed the videos.
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