Estes Park to Red River, NM

4 April, Saturday – Eight inches of snow greeted us as we got up around 0700 and I had to sweep off the car before opening the doors to pack our gear. But by 0845 we were on our way down SR 36 to Boulder where we stopped at a AAA office to pick up a NM Tourbook and some other useful (in the future) maps. Another few miles down the road we bought bread, fruit and gas at Costco then continued on through Denver and Colorado Springs on I-25 We had run out of the snow before Boulder and had some sunshine as well as snow flurries as we went south. At Walsenburg we turned west and crossed North Veta Pass (9600 ft), then down into the San Luis desert. Weather was still looking good but as soon as we turned on to the road to Great Sand Dunes National Park, we could see the snowstorm ahead. Sure enough, it was snowing and blowing at the visitors center and the best view of the dunes was in the video presentation. Actually we did have a break of a few minutes, long enough to see the dunes and the Sangre de Cristo mountains behind them before it closed in again. Needless to say, we did not do a scramble on the dunes but we did see a herd of deer with snow-covered backs on the way out. As we turned south again at Fort Garland, the weather ahead looked good again – apparently the weather gathers in the same spot as the sand does. After a quick stop to get gas in Costilla (Red River is too small to have a grocery store or gas station) we reached Questa and drove up the scenic canyon. We got to Red River around 1800 and checked in to the WorldMark resort as it started to snow again.