Cross Country Trip – Day 54

12 May 2018

It was breakfast at the Oasis again and then off to Zapata Falls.  From the lodge, it is approximately 5 miles to the turn off to the falls and then another 2.5 miles to the falls parking lot.  It starts out on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land and as you head towards the falls, it becomes state land.

The BLM states the road is very rough and some cars may not be suited to make the trip and I can see why.  It wasn’t as rough as the Medano road I took on the first day but there were plenty of dips, rocks, and washboards.  It’s a very slow drive to the falls parking lot and I suspect it took me at least 30 minutes to make the trip.

Once at the parking lot, you hike up a 0.25 mile rocky trail to the beginning of the falls.  To get to see the falls, you have to wade the flow from the falls, often rock hopping to keep from getting soaked.  It’s not as bad as it sounds – it was shallow enough in some places you could simply walk in your boots and not get wet.  However, there were some deep places that you had to precariously balance on rocks. 

You enter a chasm in the rocks and the lower part of the falls are visible there.  I was surprised to see ice from the past winter still clinging to the side of the gorge.  

As you go further into the gorge, you can see the 25 foot falls.  It is rather spectacular (seems to be a standard description this trip) particularly when you have to enter the gorge to see the falls. 

Going back down to the parking lot was easier but also more treacherous.  The rocks would slip out from under your feet.  Luckily, the Advils and anti-inflammatory cream I used last night helped out the ankle and I was able to make the hike OK.  Overall, the walk was 0.7 miles.  Elevation is 9, 260 feet so you definitely feel the altitude.
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One of the stranger sights I’ve seen this trip was a young man and woman walking up the trail and the man was carrying an ironing board.  I stated I understand everything they’re doing except the ironing board.  Apparently, it’s one of those things that you take a teddy bear, a photo, an elf, etc. and carry it to far off places and take a photo with it.  His meme is “Extreme Ironing” with the hash tag of  #livewrinklefree.  Whatever works!

After the falls, I decided to return to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and do some short day hikes around the Dune Parking lot and the visitor center. 

What a difference a day makes!  The cars were backed up for quite a ways to get into the park.  So much so that there were two rangers checking people into the park.  I attribute it to it being Saturday, and when I think about it, the campgrounds and RV park were full as I passed them this morning on the way to the falls.

Once I pulled into the Dunes parking lot, I realized it was totally full.  People were waiting for people to leave in order to park.  

One of the big things in the park is sand boarding.  I guess it is a lot like snow boarding but you  can’t use a snow board on sand.  You rent your sand board at the Oasis for the day and people drag the board to the top of the dunes and then sand board their way down.  

There’s usually a line of people waiting to rent their boards at the Oasis.  I have yet to see anyone sand board down but I have seen plenty of people drag them up the dunes.  

Since the parking lot was full, I decided to head to the visitor center and walk the 0.5 nature trail – called the Sand Ridge trail.  It was actually a nice little walk with well placed signage and information.  It was also mostly level.

I returned to the Oasis for lunch and then decided it was time again to wash clothes.  It seems I do a lot of clothes washing on this trip, but it’s usually the same clothes over and over.  Mostly, the dirty stuff is the hiking stuff but occasionally its jeans and dress shirts for in town stuff.

Tomorrow I head to Rapid City, South Dakota and the Alex Johnson hotel.  It’s an historic hotel in the downtown area and when Michel, Nancy and I did the summer trip to Yellowstone in 2014, we stayed there.  It’s a quirky, neat old hotel.  From there I head to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.  This will be three nights of camping and I just read the weather report for Rapid City and I may get a little cold in North Dakota.