10 May 2018
It was an interesting night at Elktrace B&B. I’ve been spelling it wrong in previous posts. It’s all one word. In any case, a new couple came in around 10:30 pm along with my hostess Evelyn. Evelyn has another dog and all three set off a row when the new guests arrived. I was used to dogs but it took a while for the humans to calm down.
I got up around 5:30 am and around 6:30 decided to take a shower. I could not for the life of me figure out how to turn the shower on. Not only that, but the shower door opened inward and that meant you either needed to reach around the door or stand in the shower to turn it on.
Frustrated, I got dressed and found Evelyn in the kitchen. I introduced myself and after a little small talk, asked her how to turn the shower on. You pull the shower handle first and then turn. I finally got a shower.
Evelyn fixed a delicious Western omelette and added hash browns (frozen) and a fresh croissant. She also had orange juice, coffee, and fresh fruit.
She wrote down my credit card information and said she would enter all the charges of all guests later in the day. I packed and departed around 8:00 am headed for Great Sand Dunes, a two and one half hour drive.
About midway to the dunes, I get a call. She felt she had miscopied the credit card information. I pulled over to the side of the road, read the card number to her and she said something must be wrong, that there are usually four sets of four numbers. I agreed and said that was what I just read her.
She profusely apologized and said she made a mistake, she had copied it correctly, and that she was having a bad day. I kind of noticed she was a little discombobulated when she was making breakfast. She would start one thing, forget it, then come back to it. I hope it is not an early sign of dementia.
The B&B was certainly luxurious but it was not originally designed as a B&B. She has a large, grown family with her husband Tom and the place was designed to accommodate her the extended family. This means there was little to no sound proofing between rooms so you could hear everything that anyone was doing. It’s a beautiful place but I don’t think it works as a B&B.
I made the rest of the drive to Great Sand Dunes without incident. It was too early to check into the lodge so I stopped at the visitor center for a map and information. I decided to take the Medano Pass Primitive Road, an 11 mile one way wilderness road that requires high vehicle clearance and 4 wheel ability. Let’s just say I like a challenge.
At mile 1.1 you pass the Point of No Return which means 4 wheel ability, high clearance and a very strongly worded warning about reducing tire pressure to 20 psi. I think it said that if you don’t do it you will get stuck.
I’ve driven in sand two times before. The first time was at Padre Island National Seashore. You can drive on the beach at Padre Island up to a point and then a sign warns you don’t go any further without 4 wheel drive. I was in the Coast Guard stationed at Corpus Christi, Texas and decided to go to Padre Island. Of course, I ignored the sign, got bogged in the sand and realized the tide was coming in.
It was desperation time. A kindly 4 wheeler stopped, pulled me out, and made sure I made it back to the “safe” area for non-4 wheelers. Additionally, he did not tell me how stupid I was.
My second time in the sand was at Padre Island National Seashore. Wait, I just wrote that! It was still Padre Island National Seashore. My cousin Jo, her husband Bill and I went for a drive to the seashore. Bill ignored the sign. I suggested it was not a good idea to drive on the sand. He said it was perfectly OK. I tried one more time and gave up. We got stuck. The tide started coming in. My memory lets me down on how we got out of that jam but we did.
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Today was my third time in the sand. I obeyed the sign. I put the jeep in “Sand” function, deflated the tires, and drove through like a champ. When I got to the part of the road that heads to the pass where it became rocky, I re-inflated the tires, put the jeep in 4 wheel “Rocks” and made it to round 8.6 miles of 11.2 for the road. After a point, I decided enough beating the tires to death on the rocks and turned around.
You may wonder how I re-inflated the tires. I do have a bicycle tire pump (from the stolen bike bit) but I also decided to purchase an air pump that hooks into the lighter of the jeep. It did all the work for me. It was slow but effective and the added height of the tires with the air and the 4-wheel “Rocks” setting was sufficient to get me over some pretty large rocks and drop offs.
On the return trip, I had to deflate again for the sand portion. Once back on the main road, the park service maintains an air pump so you can pump up your tires again. Amazingly, it was operational.
The jeep performed magnificently. This is exactly the reason I purchased a 4 wheel drive and this was my first real experience with having to use it off road. Yes, I know I was on a road, but only in name. It made me understand the term “rock ribbed road”. It’s the roughest thing I’ve been on. I can’t say enough about how well the jeep performed.
I pulled into the Oasis – just outside of the park – (the only store/restaurant within 20 miles) and purchased some sandwiches for the next three dinners. The restaurant is only open from 8 am – 3 pm until the peak of tourist season.
I then checked into the Great Sand Dunes Lodge (privately owned) and unloaded the jeep. This will be my base of operations for the nest two days. Depending on my ankle, I would like to hike to the top of one of the dunes.
The park is certainly busy. As you turn down the “dune” drive, the parking lot was full. At first, it looked like ants were crawling all over the dunes. It turns out it was people.
The things are massive. They are the tallest dunes in the United States.
The view outside my balcony at the lodge is spectacular. It reminds me of the scifi Dune.
Now for a good night sleep (I hope) and a fresh start tomorrow.
