After visiting the pine tree covered Black Hills in western South Dakota, we headed east through the grass covered prairies to the Badlands. French fur purveyors called the Badlands “les mauvaises terror a traverser”, meaning “bad land to traverse”. The Lakota referred to the area as “Mako Sica”, also meaning land bad.
It was a 5 hour drive from Colorado to the Black Hills of South Dakota. We went through the rolling verdant grass covered hills of Colorado and Wyoming entertained by Jake looking for antelope, prairie dogs and cattle. The hills of South Dakota were covered with pine trees and the roads were curvy prompting Sandy alerts to slow down.
From Colorado Springs we went to the Denver area to visit family and get some work done on our Freightliner chassis. While there, we went to the Rocky Mountain National Park to get up-close to the snow covered peaks, spring-time swollen rivers and wildlife.
From the Great Sand Dunes we drove a couple hours to Colorado Springs, Colorado. There were so many things to see and do in Colorado Springs, but we only had time for Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, and Costco.
The Great Sand Dunes National Park is in south central Colorado nestled against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. They are the tallest sand dunes in North America. The Great Sand Dunes cover a 30 square mile area and are up to 750 feet tall. It was only a 2 hour drive from Pagosa Springs, Colorado.
After visiting Mesa Verde National Park, we stayed at the western slope towns of Durango and Pagosa Springs, Colorado. The area is only about 35 miles from New Mexico, has a moderate climate at 7,000 feet compared to the rest of Colorado, and has the stunning Rocky Mountain backdrop.
