Great Sand Dunes NP

 

Dunes Among Diversity

Open 24/7 year-round! There are no limitations, timed entries, or reservations to visit.

The tallest dunes in North America are the centerpiece in a diverse landscape of grasslands, wetlands, forests, alpine lakes, and tundra. Stay on a moonless night to experience countless stars in this International Dark Sky Park! 

20 May 2023

While not exactly a Chamber of Commerce Day we did made the best of it by first stopping at the temporary Visitors Center. We missed the reopening of the remodeled Visitor Center by a couple weeks, so this will put this Park on the revisit list. After we took care of what we could at the Visitor Center we headed out to the dunes. Your first challenge to get to the Dunes is to cross Medano creek. In late Summer this is a dry creek bed but in late Spring it is a wide flowing creek 6 to 8 inch's deep so be prepared for wet feet. Daisy had no issues and made the creek her personnel playground. After crossing the creek, we headed up to the first small dune. We would have gone further but the 50-degree day with lite rain and wind changed our minds. We headed back to the creek to face the return trip across. This was an amazing park to take in and we spent 3 hours here. You can spend all day here if the weather is nice and you want to hike up to the tops of the dunes. Daisy completed another Bark Ranger badge. This Park is very dog friendly but be mindful that during the Summer the sand temps may be too hot for the dogs unless you have hiking botties for your dog. 

Click here for photos of our visit

NPS Website

Our 164th NPS Unit and 22nd National Park

I'm ready to go and play in the Creek and Dunes!!!!!

Great Sand Dunes Perserve

 

Dunes Among Diversity

Open 24/7 year-round! There are no limitations, timed entries, or reservations to visit.

The tallest dunes in North America are the centerpiece in a diverse landscape of grasslands, wetlands, forests, alpine lakes, and tundra. Stay on a moonless night to experience countless stars in this International Dark Sky Park!

20 May 2023

See our page on Great Sand Dunes NP

NPS Webpage

163rd NPS Unit

Lake Meredith NRA

 

Oasis on the Texas High Plains

Within the dry, windswept plains of the Texas Panhandle lies a hidden oasis, a welcoming haven where wildlife and people find relief from the dry grasslands above. Through this flat plain, the Canadian River has cut dramatic 200-foot canyons, or breaks, where humans lived 13,000 years ago.  Lake Meredith occupies these hidden coves and is a haven for migratory birds and other wildlife.

17 May 2023

After a morning at Alibates Flint Quarries NM we headed up to the Visitors Center and Headquarters of Lake Meredith NRA. Finding it closed for lunch we headed out to the lake. We took in a couple of overlooks for the dam and lake. After taking in the lake, we headed back to the Visitors Center and Headquarters. We stopped in and was meet by the Ranger that had conducted our trail walk at Alibates Flint Quarries NM. There is not a lot to see at the visitors Center and is mostly used as a check in point for Lake Meredith NRA. You can spend a couple hours here or all day depending on what you want to do and see. 

Click here for photos of our visit

NPS Website

162nd NPS Unit

Alibates Flint Quarries NM

Alibates Flint

13,000 years ago, this site was well-known by mammoth hunters as a source of flint for tools. Centuries passed, but the colorful flint never lost its value or usefulness in the Texas Panhandle.  Learn how important this site was to the survival, commerce and culture of the people of the High Plains.

 17 May 2023

A visit to this unit offered us a small glimpse of life of the Native American tribes that inhabited this area of the Texas panhandle. A must do for this Unit is a Ranger led trail hike as you cannot see the Quarries without being on a Ranger led hike. You need to reserve a spot for this hike that is done once a day. We started our visit at the Visitors center to take in the offered movie and exhibits. The unit makes it their focal point to teach about the people that inhabited the area as well as the Alibates Flint that is only found here. After taking in the Visitor Center, we meet up with our Ranger. We headed up to the trailhead and the start of our hike. The hike is a one-and-a-half-mile round trip hike. From the start to the top of the Mesa was broken up by three stops that our Ranger used to talked about the life and needs of the inhabitants of the area. At the top of the mesa, we got to explore a few of the Quarries. We had a great day to take in this site and with the Ranger hike we spent three hours here. We also got to take home a few pieces of Alibates Flint that came from outside the park boundaries.  

Click here for photos of our visit

NPS Website

161st NPS Unit

Washita Battlefield NHS

 

This is Hallowed Ground

On November 27, 1868, Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer led the 7th US Cavalry on a surprise dawn attack on a Cheyenne village led by Peace Chief Black Kettle. The event was an example of the tragic clash of cultures that occurred during the Great Plains Wars. It is also a place of remembrance and reflection for those who died here.

16 May 2023

A sad chapter of our history.  We took in the Visitors Center that offers a balanced prospective of the events that happened here. The Movie was well done and explained the events that led up to the battle here in great detail and the terrible events and atrocities of that day. We then headed down to the site of the battlefield and took in the overlook. We did not do the trail this trip, so that will go on the return list. We spent two hours here and with a trail hike you can see this site in 3 or 4 hours. They do not have an Active Bark Ranger program, but Daisy did get her Bark Ranger tag. 

Click here for photos of our visit

NPS Website

160th NPS Unit

But why am I not allowed on the trail.