#2 The Great Sand Dunes, CO
Just look at this. Approaching, it doesn't even look that large, but once you're in,
you are engulfed completely inside the dunes.
TIPS: Two old, large gentlemen in a diner said to wear socks when climbing -- Do this! It actually came in clutch and forwent sand in shoes. Also the wind becomes zephyrous at the top, so ensure your face and eyes are covered. And if you dare wear shorts, be prepared to be sandblasted every 10 minutes. It's honestly wasn't that temperature hot -- but everything else is unforgiving.
Climbing up to the tallest peak they let you, it feels like trekking through the deep Sahara of Morocco -- like actually indistinguishable.
You get the most incredible view though.
I guarentee you, dear reader, have never been inside any landscape just quite like this before... or even remotely
similar. Sure, the beach is one thing, maybe some sand in other parts of the Southwest, but being engulfed by it is truly an other-wordly experience. You might as well be on another planet (they test Mars rovers here.)
I was fortunate to get the hottest photograph ever in the desert dunes, to constrast with the coldest photo in an Icelandic cave.
And at the end, we closed off with a small intimate hike overlooking the dunes, and saw a perfect little cactus. This place just engulfs you in a completely different biome from where you live, and I cannot recommend it enough.
On a scale of Clay to Boulder, I rate this park a Cobble.
