Dunes and Scones

After leaving Denver we headed southwest to Westcliffe, a beautiful little town at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Gus worked in the wilderness above the town in August and when he returned to Custer he told me he would take me there this fall.

I am a scone fanatic and I have to try the scones in every bakery and coffee shop I see. We ended up in a place called the Tea Room because the coffee shop next door was closed. The Tea Room was the most girlie, frilly place - it looked like a doily puked everywhere and I think Gus was the ONLY man to ever set foot in the place. I was a about to grab Gus and scurry out of there when the proprietress said they had scones. So we sat down at a doily covered table in doily covered chairs and waited for our scones. She served them with "real clotted cream and home-made lemon curd". They were so good they now hold the top spot in my book (previously held by a place in Oregon) and are worthy of a trip back to Westcliffe and the Tea Room.

After we left Westcliffe we headed over to the other side of the Sangres to Great Sand Dunes N.P. where we spent two days. It's a pretty surreal place - like a mini-Sahara. The dunes are enormous; there are many people in this photo but they are mere specks. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that Dundee was allowed on the dunes. The sand was very easy to walk on because it was packed and the weather was great - high 60s and in the 30s at night but we're prepared. The first night Dundee got really cold because he didn't stay in his sleeping bag but he learned his lesson and on the second night he stayed in.

I saw the funniest picture in the visitor center of a kid playing in the water by the dunes. He looks like my dad's son if he had one (my dad has almost always had a mustache). I'm sure the artist who painted the boy meant the 'stache to be a shadow but it's a little too dark.

Tomorrow we're headed to Natural Bridges N. P. to meet Gus' brother Craig. Last spring when we went there it snowed on us and we didn't get to see the sights and stars. N.B.N.P. was listed in National Geo Magazine as one of the best places to stargaze because of the lack of light pollution. It's supposed to rain while we're there this time but we're hopeful!