We had planned on a long weekend up at Cascade, with side trips to Pikes Peak and Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. We were after the obligatory Pikes Peak donut, and a hike from the Crowe Gulch picnic area. But ... it was forecast for heavy rains, so we changed to the Dunes.
The Dunes is always worth a trip.This time of the year is quite nice. The leaves were starting to turn, and it was cool enough for a windbreaker on the hikes we ... hiked.
We did hike up above the dunes, on the east side of the preserve. Then we hiked up to Zapata Falls. That hike, though up a good slope over rocks and small boulders, was actually fairly easy. It's only a half mile, with magnificent views of the San Luis Valley floor, the dunes, and Mt Herard and associated peaks.
We stayed at the Pinyon Flats campground, which is on the preserve, and run by NPS. We are great fans of NPS, and were not disappointed on this visit.
We got some great star shots, too, the first night.
The obligatory selfie
This one is up at the Falls. Blurred; I was trying to keep the camera dry.
