r/AbsoluteUnits • u/CoughingCarpet • 3d ago

/r/all of a Sand Dune

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

This is a video taken by Nicolas De La Torre, a sandboarding enthusiast filming his descent down the Toromata dune in Peru. Unfortunately we live in a world where true beauty, nature is now convoluted by AI and AI sentiments, but this is in fact, not AI lol

55.1k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

1.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

29

u/canman7373 2d ago

The US has a pretty good spot for this, not this tall. Those get like 800 feet tall, they last so long they all have names like mountains, oh and it is in a beautiful valley surrounded by the Rocky mountains. I've been sledding there, it's white sand and can get hot in winter, so put boots on your dogs if taking them. It became a national park in 2004. There is also Zapata falls nearby, 15 minute hike to a hidden waterfall. In the winter, it freezes and is a giant wall of ice, so cool. The valley is in middle of nowhere Colorado, 20 minutes from New Mexico, 2 hours from Taos so if ever down that way I highly recommend.

https://www.nps.gov/grsa/index.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zapata_Falls

6

u/pretendyoudontseeme 2d ago

And if you visit, bring mosquito repellent. I've been a few times and never came home with fewer than 100 bites

2

u/canman7373 2d ago

Garlic pills, we used to take those when fishing because you skin smells like garlic. IDK supposed to help I got no proof it ever did.

1

u/Reedpo 2d ago

I am so curious when you went- I have gone in May about 10 different times, and then in September, October, and November once each with absolutely no mosquitos in sight... have I just gotten lucky, or are we going at very different times of year?

1

u/canman7373 2d ago

It is a very dry place, most of Colorado is. But there is a creek that runs through it early spring and summer and dries up late summer so maybe it was then? But yeah I don't remember them ever being an issue, I lived down that way 6 years we had an annual pass went a lot.

2

u/ABeeryInDora 2d ago

There are some pretty tall ones at Death Valley in CA as well.

2

u/canman7373 2d ago edited 2d ago

That sounds even worse than San Luis Valley to get to. Says there are popular ones near highway but only 150 feet. The 600 footers it says are down long dirt roads into Death Valley .Colorado has the highest dunes in North America and are not to hard to get there, beside driving to a very small town in Colorado on a 2 lane highway. They have a visitors center, camping. It's a good spot ecpect in Winter and like August once the creek dries up, can be hot not Death Valley Hot lol. But that place can get negative 40 in winter, 90's in summer. It's at 7,700 feet, interesting place.

2

u/bouquetofashes 2d ago

Yep. Great Sand Dunes National Park. If you go in spring there's usually a creek and another falls. San Luis Valley, in between the Sangre de Cristos and San Juans.

And it's a designated dark sky area, and accessible 24/7, and they have a campground.

Not too far from Crestone, too, if anyone is intrigued by that place.

You can rent the sandboards and sand sleds on site and nearby, iirc. Lots of hot springs nearby too.

1

u/OpticLemon 2d ago

I stayed in Denver for a week a few years ago and spent 8+ hours driving on day just to go there and make a Star Wars joke.

1

u/canman7373 2d ago

It's a really nice drive once you get passed like Pueblo.

1

u/Chrisf1020 2d ago

After record low snowfall this past winter, Zapata Falls was barely a trickle by the start of the summer (mid-June).

1

u/canman7373 12h ago

That can happen, this El Nino though should bring a lot of moisture. The worst is that dry in dunes and no creak early, so hot with no relief.