sunday's day trip

we don't always share a full day off from work, so this past sunday, with one ahead of us. we took a trip up north into colorado.

up north are the snowy covered crestones and lonely old volcanos. the crestones are more jagged & dramatic than our part of the sangre de cristo range...which to me appear worn, soft & wise.

also, there are vast agricultural fields, and towns with wood frames instead of adobe.

the afternoon grew late & cloudy, but we took a long lonely stretch of a highway to the great sand dunes national park.

we climbed mountains of sand & felt the air get colder.
known as the tallest sand dunes in north america, they cover about 30 sq miles of land at the base of the sangre de cristos. the wind changes the shape daily.

we were the only visitors there, and could hear only the wind on the sand and the swish of our shoes as we walked. it was other-wordly.

I picked up a pocketful of rocks. some of them so bright green, they appeared alien to the soil.

on the way home we stopped at a polish-owned stop shop, where I bought what I thought was a polish milk chocolate bar (it wasn't, it was a chocolate/coconut bar, & it was full of liquidy, suntan oil tasting coconut). and d. bought mexican pepsi in a glass bottle.

and then the sun hit so brightly, we were blinded for a moment as we drove.