Sand Dunes

Day 12
 You would be forgiven if you thought we'd taken a wrong turning and ended up in the Sahara but no this is the Great Sand Dunes National Park .
The park contains the tallest sand dunes  in North America rising about 750 feet (230 m) from the floor and covering about 19,000 acres . Researchers reckon that the dunes started forming less than 440,000 years ago.
The dunes were formed from sand and soil deposits of the Rio Grande and its tributaries. Local people use it like day at the beach ( see extra )and some people like to hike up to the top - we decided against it ( the Ranger was warning people that at the top it would be in excess of 140F )  If you look really closely you can see someone hiking.