This was our second down day but the possible chances of thunderstorms were in Colorado so that’s where we headed. The couple of days afterwards should be active in Kansas so we were mainly positioning for those days ahead. It feels good that we will have some active days ahead!
The drive up on I-25 along the Rockies has got to be one of the most scenic highways to take while chasing. I have been up and down this road a few times and it is stunning to sit and watch the mountains while driving. I love it!
First I thought, and hoped, that we were going to White Sands, NM, but I was happy that Peter Wharton (our tour guide) had other plans: Great Sand Dunes National Park of Colorado. I have spent quite some time in and around the Midwest, including a year in Kansas, but I have never heard of it – and it was spectacular!
The feeling of seeing a “desert landscape” at the foot of snow covered mountains in the Prairie is quite something else. The setting is beautiful and the closer you get to the sand dunes, the more you realize how big they actually are.
We spent about an hour there, and I crossed the little creek, where kids were playing in the sand and cold water, and walked up the dunes. People were sandboarding, playing guitar, hiking and enjoying themselves greatly, which added to the positive feeling of being there. This definitely comes up as a top-3 places to visit in the chase areas of Tornado Alley for me. White Sands being another and the whole area around NW Nebraska/Wyoming/Montana.
