Great Sand Dunes National Park: The One Where Everything Fell Apart
Emboldened by the success of my first solo road trip with my kids, I was eager to start planning the next one. But the holiday season was right around the corner, and from the months of January-March, our family usually hunkers down and hibernates, only coming out to ski on the weekends. So April became the target goal for trip number 2, with our sights set on Great Sand Dunes National Park.
The Sand Dunes are in the southeastern part of Colorado, about three hours away from our home. When I started planning, I began to dream of how we could extend the trip a bit more and see if my husband could meet us at some point during it all. After months of research and planning, here’s what I came up with:
It would start with the kids and me driving down to Moffat, CO, where we rented an RV already set up for us. We chose this spot because it was in the middle of an International Dark Zone, so the night sky was supposed to be amazing. We would spend two nights there, visit the Sand Dunes on our full day, and hopefully check out the Colorado Gator Park right next to us. Yes, in the middle of nowhere, there is a park in CO with over 300 alligators and other reptiles…who knew? After our time at the Sand Dunes, we would start making our way towards CO Springs. On our way, the plan was to stop at Bishop’s castle, a random castle built in the middle of the mountains by some guy who simply wanted to build a castle. Then we would continue on to CO Springs, where my husband would meet us. We would spend one night there and then head to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo together in the morning. Then we would all head back home and recount the memories we made for years to come.
It’s such a great plan, isn’t it?
Too bad it didn’t happen quite as I had hoped.
The first part started off exactly like I envisioned. The kids and I loaded up the van and made our way down to Moffat, stopping at K’s Dairy in Buena Vista, CO, for a delicious lunch and playground time about halfway into the trip. We arrived at our RV and met with the hosts, who were lovely and just as excited as we were about all the fun things to explore in the surrounding areas. We unpacked our things, got dinner ready, and ate it around the campfire. We went to bed before it was completely dark outside, but I woke up around 11 pm and got my daughter up as well (I tried to wake up my son, but he adamantly refused and went back to sleep). We were bleary-eyed and bundled up, but when we went outside, we were astounded by the night sky. The heavens truly do declare the majesty of God.
My daughter and I went back inside and back to sleep. It was magical.
Until it wasn’t.
Around 3 am, I woke up again, not feeling the best. I felt so nauseous but chalked it up to nerves about the trip and everything that goes into it. But the nausea kept going and grew stronger by the minute. I was about to get up and grab some water when I heard my daughter jump out of bed and promptly throw up everywhere. Bless her heart, she made it to the floor and not all over their comforter. I managed to get her to the bathroom, where she continued her audition for The Exorcist, somehow able to hold myself together until she had a pause in said audition that I quickly took over to give my own rendition.
You see, about 9 days earlier, my son had some quick little stomach bug we thought we had all escaped. Nope. It had just lain dormant until this very moment.
But, y’all, I held on hope. Maybe it would pass? Maybe it would just delay our plans by a few hours? It would not, lol.
My daughter and I struggled to get to daylight, my son completely unaware of our plight. By the time he woke up, we were completely zapped. All hopes of making it to the Sand Dunes flew out the window. The RV we were staying in was a lovely RV, but it was not designed to be a place of comfort for the sick. Around 9 am, I admitted defeat and called my husband. He wasn’t meant to meet us until the next day in CO Springs, but as soon as he heard his girls were down, he jumped into action. My sweet husband rearranged his schedule, booked a hotel room for us all close by, and drove 3 hours to come rescue us. I cannot tell you the absolute relief that came over me when he called back with the new plan. He asked to speak to my son, who had just turned 4, and told him he was the man in charge until my husband got there. My son took his new role so seriously. He made sure we were comfortable, patted us on the head, and made sure to snuggle us as much as he could.
Somehow, between getting sick and needing to lie down, I managed to pack up our stuff (or at least throw it all into the van) and get over to the hotel room waiting for us. The hotel room had spacious, comfy beds and a TV with all the movies we could ever want. My husband arrived shortly after we did with chicken noodle soup and love. Both my daughter and I started to feel a little bit more human around the 12-hour mark, and the next morning, we were both back to our normal selves! Like it never happened! (except it did, and it was terrible).
We decided to alter our already-altered plans a bit more and strive to get to the Sand Dunes, take a quick trip over to Bishop’s Castle, and end up in CO Springs. The Colorado Gator Park would have to wait for another time.
The Sand Dunes were amazing. It was an absolutely bizarre experience to come from the mountains and step into an area that looked like the middle of the movie Aladdin. Medano Creek, which runs through the dunes, had just started flowing, so we hiked over to where we could access it, and the kids had a blast splashing around and building moats. Our kids weren’t quite ready for the sand sledding and sandboarding available, but it was super fun to watch others try it out! One day, when they can hike up sand without falling into dramatics, we’ll try it out. We enjoyed learning more at the visitor center and found a beautiful, shaded picnic spot for lunch. The kids completed the Junior Ranger program, and we said our goodbyes to the Sand Dunes.
Onward we went to Bishop’s Castle! On the way to CO Springs, we took the detour into the San Isabel National Forest. The drive itself was beautiful, and honestly, the last place you would expect to stumble upon a castle. But sure enough, there it was! Enormous and very much still under construction, but my goodness, it was pretty cool to see.
When we pulled up to park, we noticed several goats and chickens walking around. I didn’t think much about them at first and set about getting my kids out of the car, my husband parking right next to us. I got my son out and set him down, and then opened the front passenger door to rummage through my bag for my keys to lock the car. My daughter was still in the car, gathering up her things. While I was rummaging, I felt something brush up against my leg. I looked down and saw a goat trying to investigate the floorboard of my van. The floorboard where all our road trip snacks were. I tried to push it out of the way, but it managed to get its front hooves into the car.
And then, without ceremony, it jumped onto the front seat of my car.
My daughter lost her mind. She went into a full panic meltdown at the sight of an unexpected animal right next to her. I tried to get the goat out, comfort my daughter, and yell to my husband that we had a situation. I gave up on the goat and ran over to grab my daughter out of the car. Once I pulled her out and set her down, I realized that my new goat friend had somehow signaled to all his other goat friends that he had struck gold.
And that’s how I ended up with four goats in my van. Let me repeat that. THERE WERE FOUR GOATS IN MY VAN. Now, when all of this first started happening, my sweet husband did not truly understand the gravity of the situation, so his first thought was to take a picture. Which is why I have the insane photographic proof of all of this.
You’re welcome.
The next few moments were a blur of chaos. My husband had run over to try to help. Strangers who saw the whole thing happen ran to assist. With their help, and the sacrifice of a loaf of bread and a bag of chips, we managed to lure all the goats out and save most of our belongings. Both of my kids were crying on the sidelines at this point. Our van was pretty trashed. I was trying to wrap my head around the fact that all of that really just happened.
And then we toured a castle in the mountains. What a wild day.
The castle itself checks off every box for a strange tourist stop. It is weird, quirky, and has some wild backstories. There are a million warning signs that say you are entering at your own risk and that the owners are not responsible for any physical, mental, or emotional injury… in other words, a great place to take kids. I learned that I do have a slight fear of heights, which shows up when I climb to the top of a wobbly turret with no guardrail.
Overall, it was the most memorable stop of the trip and one we talk about often, now that my daughter can see the humor of it all.
We made it to CO Springs after that and went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo the next morning. I had heard so much about this zoo but had just never had the chance to visit. Friends, if you get the chance, visit this zoo IMMEDIATELY! It is absolutely incredible. The ticket price is a little higher than normal, but for good reason. The entire experience is so interactive, with several opportunities to feed different animals. There are fun obstacle course type areas, a center where you can get very up close and personal with several different types of animals, incredible food and coffee, and so many learning stations. At one point, my daughter asked if she could go inside what looked like a gigantic beaver dam. She was in there for awhile, so I went to check on her and was surprised to find a window to an actual beaver exhibit with the beavers just chilling a few inches from our faces. Seriously, I cannot speak highly enough about this zoo. Truly a Colorado gem.
After that wonderful stop, we caravaned home. We were a little worse for wear than we were when we started and a heck of a lot more tired. But despite it all, the whole family looks back on that trip with incredibly fond memories. Yes, we got super sick, but that also let my son engage his nurturing side and be so sweet with us. Yes, I had FOUR GOATS IN MY CAR, but that one story has become a part of our family lore. Yes, our plans got interrupted, but it led to my husband getting to enjoy and experience more of the trip with us than we originally thought.
I think this is one of the things I love about roadtrips now. Of course, I love the planning, the adventure, the sights, and the memories. But I also love getting our family out of our routine and taking our show on the road, whatever that show may look like. It’s a chance to experience things together that may be challenging. Those moments can either bring us closer together or drive us apart, and praise the Lord, so far, they’ve been far more of a bonding experience than anything else. It’s a chance to practice all the things we work on at home - patience, kindness with our siblings, flexibility, contentment, and awe of our Creator.
This trip was definitely full of misadventures and hiccups, but it’s also one of the most memorable we’ve shared. Memories that bring a lot of laughter and smiles. If you’re thinking of taking a trip like this with young kids, let me encourage you to just do it. It probably won’t be perfect. There will be something that comes up that you didn’t expect. There may be whining and complaining, and far too many unhealthy snacks needed. But, in my humble opinion, the good faaaaaaaar outweighs the inconvenient. The time with your kids is invaluable. The lessons you learn are learned as a family. The opportunities for discipleship and growth are boundless.
This trip and our first trip to Arches National Park were kind of training trips for us. They got the kids excited for what was to come next - a little bit longer of a trip, farther distances away from home, and just as many crazy stories we treasure in our hearts. Stay tuned for what comes next!
