Wednesday, May 25, 2022
This morning we left our north Albuquerque campground and headed northwest through beautiful New Mexican countryside. Mountains were to the east of us most of the drive, the higher peaks covered with snow. After departing the Land of Enchantment, the Coloradan mountains gained height and all were snow topped. We checked in at the Alamosa KOA around 1:30 pm and quickly set up the motorhome. The campground is about three miles north of town and has nice views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. We both were tired from the trip and so enjoyed a restorative nap.
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| View of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from behind the Campground |
After napping, we went to the Colorado Welcome Center in downtown Alamosa where a local elderly gentleman chatted with us about things to do and we obtained several maps and brochures. The local museum was closed so we drove around the town to get our bearings then parked the car at Cole Park. This park is located along the Rio Grande River with nice paved paths, unpaved levy trails, and two pedestrian bridges crossing the river. We walked around enjoying the views and the cool dry weather. We learned that Alamosa is Spanish for “place of cottonwoods” and indeed there were many western cottonwoods (Populus fremontii) in the park.
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| Welcome Center in Downtown Alamosa |
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| Crossing the Rio Grande River in Cole Park |
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| The Rio Grande River and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains |
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| Alamosa is Spanish for “Place of Cottonwoods” |
While walking around Cole Park, we worked up a thirst and so headed to the San Luis Valley Brewing Company to wet our whistles. Once rehydrated, we drove to City Market to buy a few groceries and headed back to the RV.
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| Our Thirst-Quenching Stop |
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| Home of Champion Cross-Country Track & Field Teams |
We passed the campus of Adams State University a few times in our wanderings around town. Alamosa bills itself as the City of Champions because of the legendary success of the Adams State cross-country track & field team: 54 national championships, 217 individual national champions and 1,500 all-Americans. Not bad for a small school with an annual student population of about 1,500. Alamosa is at an elevation of 7,433 ft. which is considered to be in the sweet elevational range for high altitude athletic training. Training at altitude benefits the body by producing more red blood cells to compensate for less oxygen in the air. So, Alamosa is not only renowned for its champions but also as a training destination for serious athletes.
After a light dinner in the RV, we decided to drive the toad to Great Sand Dunes National Park for some star gazing. We packed up warm clothes (expected overnight temps in the lower 30s) and binoculars and left about 8:15 pm for the 35-minute drive to the dark. In 2019, Great Dunes was designated an International Dark Sky Park having average sky quality readings of 21.7 on a scale that maxes out at 23. No park personnel work after 5:00 pm but the park is open 24/7. We parked along with others in the parking lot for the sand dune hikes and walked a short distance through vegetation that opened up to allow an unimpeded view of the dunes. To our surprise, there was mud and shallow flowing water separating us from the base of the dunes and a coyote on the mud flats drinking water. This water wasn’t mentioned in any of the information we had read but I later saw Medano Creek designated on a park map. We decided to not cross the water until we visit again during daylight and so sat on a sandy hillside facing the dunes and watched the evening sky become ever darker and starrier. Fortunately, for darkness sake, the crescent moon wasn’t due to rise until 2-3:00 am. The scene was magical. With the light pollution around Raleigh and the eastern U.S. in general, we haven’t seen so many stars since one memorable night during our 2019 trip to Newfoundland. After star gazing, we tentatively found our way back to the car in the dark and Jane wearily drove us to the campground. We’re ready to rest up and return to the dunes during daylight tomorrow.