Day 8: Alamosa and Great Sand Dunes National Park

Today was the kind of day I dreamed about when we planned this trip.

We woke up to a beautiful landscape and crisp 42 degrees. I let the kids sleep in and miss their morning Zoom calls (I emailed the teachers) since we got in to our campsite so late. We have been very careful in planning this trip that we aren’t traveling late on school nights, but then Tucumcari happened and missing this morning Zooms was more of the fall out from that disaster. Also, since we are now on mountain time, their zoom calls start at 6:45. That’s pretty early, but the upside is they are done with school early, too!

Jordan was able to work without too many distractions, although I should probably let him weigh in on that. The kids and I did their virtual learning outside and it was awesome! If you had asked me the day before how virtual schooling went I would have said terrible. Today was a good day. We will see what tomorrow holds. During “recess” the kids got to play on their own. They created a “base” about 100 yards from our RV where I can see them clearly. Playing outside without the interference of adults is so good for them. They get along better, work together, and it is evident that a little freedom to roam is good for my kids.

It’s kind of lame, but I was thrilled that I was able to get a ton of laundry done. We don’t have a washer or dryer in the RV so have to use whatever the campground has. The laundry facilities are nearby so it was easy for me to go throw a load in and then come back to help the kids with school. It was nice to have clean sheets and towels.

After school and work, we headed to Great Sand Dunes National Park. We got a later start than we wanted so decided to put off sand sledding one day and just check the place out. It is incredible! The dunes are so vast! Jordan’s mom gave the kids money for souvenirs so we stopped at the gift shop before heading to the dunes. You shopped outside the store. All merchandise was shown in the window and you spoke to a man behind plexi glass to place your order. To my surprise, both kids bought children binoculars. Hudson immediately put his around his neck and said, “Let’s go! Adventure awaits!” And it did!

We walked into the dunes and were amazed by the size of them! Hudson wanted to hike to the top, but we didn’t have time and were unsure of the kids stamina. As we climbed up Lucy said, “My muscles are going to get bigger. I’m getting stronger.” I love how she sees something that is challenging as an opportunity to grow! So many people could take a lesson from her, including me. The kids did great! It was only at the very end Lucy asked if I could carry her. I didn’t. We are looking forward to going back and sledding tomorrow!

We came home very sandy and had the kids take showers immediately. There is still a ton of sand I need to sweep out of our little home! We ate dinner outside and put the kids to bed. All in all it was good day for them and as cliche as it is, it made me happy seeing my kids so happy. I, personally, was looking forward to taking a hot shower and washing my hair, but for some reason there was no water pressure when you turned the water to hot. So at 9 pm Jordan headed to Walmart to get a part to flush the hot water heater. As Jordan said, “You have to be somewhat handy to own an RV.” Fortunately, Jordan is handy and about 10:30 pm had fixed the problem. I’m really looking forward to washing my hair tomorrow!

I know not everyday will be like today, but I’m thankful we finally had a day that went somewhat according to plan and was a lot of fun!

Until next time…

Sarah