After a rough drive through a horrid hail storm we made it safely to the high desert to dryer air and land. We were looking forward to dessert time with warmer temps and no snow. 
Mother nature had a different outlook on our trip. We awoke to 4 Â inches of snow. Really? 
The ground was so warm not much stuck but the cards it just piled on! 
Luna had icicles! 
The Great Sand Dunes were the Great Snow Dunes. 
We made the best of it and explored anyway. We checked out the local fauna and flora. We sniffed the ponderosa pines that smelled like butterscotch. 
The jeep road was open and we drove for a while before having to turn around due to too high of water. We probably could have made the river crossing but were worried with the snowmelt and rising rivers. 
We got as close as possible without freezing out feet off. 
I loved finding the cacti under the snow. You had to be careful where you grabbed snowballs from! 
We saw humming birds and a grouse. 
We earned our badges and headed out to town to find some food. 
The next morning things looked better! there were sand dunes again! We hiked out and rolled down, raced up, ran down and explored the dunes until we could move no more. 
Heading back to the car was brutal. We were cold as it was but had to pass the river again. The water level had gone up. 
You had to race between the pulses. 
We headed for another hike and suddenly I was in a lot of pain. Sand in my eye? Probably. Mom washed it out and no luck. Off to the eye doctor to have a few grains of sand removed. I have a scratch on my cornea and have to use this annoying antibiotic gel 3 times a day for 5 days. 
My favortie part was them dying my eye yellow! 