Day 17 (Great Sand Dunes National Park to Durango, CO)

I woke up early, which gave me time to drive to Great Sand Dune National Park and start hiking the dunes while it was still dark. It wasn’t too dark though because the moon really lights up everything out here.

The dunes didn’t look that hard to hike, but once you start, you remember how hard it is to walk in sand.

It took about an hour to reach High Dune, which is the tallest dune in the park. It’s an incredible place. Great stargazing, but also beautiful colors and the vastness of the dunes make it really special.

I drove to Durango and saw more beautiful, bright yellow aspen trees.

I’m now in a coffee shop catching up on everything before dinner.