We left Montrose and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison on the 13th. Here’s breakfast on the way:
Crossing the Continental Divide.
And finding our way to Del Norte (population 1,413 in 2023) and another historic accommodation, the Windsor Hotel, opened in the 1870s, faced the wrecking ball in the 1990s, and saved by local benefactors who sponsored the renovation.
The manager of the hotel took us on an extended tour of all the upgrades, the artists represented, and many of the fittings that were restored to their original standing. Here are a couple pictures of pictures.
There is also a delightful riverfront walk along the Rio Grande del Norte. This area is called a high-altitude desert making the rivers and the vegetation that flourishes there stand out. We drove through a few hundred miles of the high-altitude desert landscape, flat flat and the roads were straight straight. The first picture and the following are from the river walk.
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The morning of the 14th we headed out to Great Sand Dunes National Park early because the winds were due and sand and wind are not a particularly comfortable combination. Here’s the first glimpse of the dune field.
The best of the explanation boards trying to answer everyone’s first question – how did this happen?
Notice the altitude. Windy was feeling it hard and since altitude sickness is bad for you, we decided to head down to some lower elevation activities.
So we went to this Nature Reserve and saw and heard a great many birds. It was lovely! I’ve been using my phone (pixel 8) for all my pictures now since 2024 but I do rue not having a decent camera when it comes to wildlife. One of the reasons I gave up on my camera was because, although it’s a very decent camera, it doesn’t do so well with wildlife either.
