The Last of the Trilogy: Mysteries of Great Sand Dunes National Park

      This is the third and final post on Great Sand Dunes National Park in south-central Colorado for this autumn. If you have not already read the first two posts, please read Part 1 and Part 2 first.

      A few mysteries about these 750 foot tall dunes, the tallest in North America, remain. What are these circular sand markings?

     [For scale, the notebook is about 4 inches by 2.75 inches.] Any ideas?

     Why did the National Park Service remove the road access through private land and Liberty Parking area from the northwest part of the official map? [I discovered the difference when writing notes on the map to send to my mom for our spring trip.]

       The map on the left was picked up directly from the GSD Visitor Center while the one on the right I picked up at the Nature Conservancy's Zapata Ranch. Hmmmm. Thoughts?

        I am most curious to trek to that northwest parking area to see the mysterious crater for myself:

(See also Part 2 of the GSD Trilogy for a discussion of the possible crater origins and comparison to similar erosional cirque features in Israel.)

     Not a mystery: the wonderful wheelchair dune buggies available at the Visitor Center for accessing the dunes

      and the Sawmill Canyon Backcountry Campsite along the Medano Creek Road which is expressly for providing a back country experience to those who use wheelchairs.

      The accommodations  have prompted a visit in November by a friend who needs the wheelchair dune buggy to fully experience the dunes.

       And lastly, Maizie is digging in the dunes link below.  Is she hot, looking for water, looking for gold or. . .What is it Maizie?

    Here's the last Great Sand Dunes images (well, at least until the spring. . .).

Here's hoping your National Park adventures are full of mystery and intrique.

Steph