Great Sand Dunes (30 June 2022)

At the top of Medona Pass where it meets County Rd 559.1. I road my Yamaha TW200 on the Medona Primitive Road, a 4x4 trail, in the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, Colorado

At the top of Medona Pass where it meets County Rd 559.1. I road my Yamaha TW200 on the Medona Primitive Road, a 4x4 trail, in the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, Colorado

At the top of Medona Pass where it meets County Rd 559.1. I road my Yamaha TW200 on the Medona Primitive Road, a 4x4 trail, in the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, Colorado

After 6-miles of riding my Yamaha TW200 back down the Medona Primitive Road, a 4x4 trail, from Medona Pass, I am at the border of the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Area and the Great Sand Dunes National Park.

After 6-miles of riding my Yamaha TW200 back down the Medona Primitive Road, a 4x4 trail, from Medona Pass, I am at the border of the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Area and the Great Sand Dunes National Park.

After 6-miles of riding my Yamaha TW200 back down the Medona Primitive Road, a 4x4 trail, from Medona Pass, I am at the border of the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Area and the Great Sand Dunes National Park.

Patrick Kane enjoying a view of the sand dunes at the Castle Creek Picnic Area in the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, Colorado

A view of the sand dunes at the Castle Creek Picnic Area in the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, Colorado

"Geology in Action" information sign at the main dunes parking area in the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, Colorado

"Stepping Into Wilderness" information sign at the main dunes parking area in the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, Colorado

"Signs of Life" information sign at the main dunes parking area in the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, Colorado

"Medano Creek and Great Sand Dunes" information sign at the main dunes parking area in the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, Colorado

The giant dunes are a short walk from the main dunes parking area in the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, Colorado

Patrick Kane enjoying the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, Colorado

Boondocking at BLM Sacred White Shell Mountain, south of the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, Colorado. Blanca Peak, in the background, is the fourth-highest peak of the Rocky Mountains located in the southern Sangre de Cristo range not far from Alamosa, Colorado. It is known to the Navajo people as the Sacred Mountain of the East. It is associated with the color white, and is said to be covered in daylight and dawn and fastened to the ground with lightning.

A view of the sunset while boondocking at BLM Sacred White Shell Mountain, south of the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, Colorado

A view of the sunset while boondocking at BLM Sacred White Shell Mountain, south of the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, Colorado

Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, Colorado

Richard taking photos of the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, Colorado

Richard taking photos of the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, Colorado

Patrick Kane exploring the Great Sand Dunes National Park near the Castle Creek Picnic Area (image by Richard Barrett-Bates)

It took a LOT of effort just to get this far up the dunes in Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, Colorado