5/30 -- 10:45 PM (Mountain Time)

Today was our first full day at Great Sand Dunes. If you thought walking through soft sand was hard, imagine doing it straight up, into the wind, and into the sun. This didn't stop Dale and me from trekking to the very top. When we got there, we saw the wind blowing the sand around in a way that prompted Dale to exclaim, "That is Awesome!" (and Dale has sen a lot of stuff, so that's saying a lot) However, it was not quite so awesome when we were suddenly in the middle of it: getting sand-blasted in every orifice head to toe. Thank God we were carrying Fribees that we could use to shield our faces. After we finally got back down to the bottom, we headed further down the road into the Aspens and stopped by a creek for a while. After dinner, we roasted some-more marshmallows (get it? smores?), and i made the marshmallow to end all marshmallows: it was perfect, but then the wind shifted, and an ember from the fire burned a hole in my trunks. I'm still pretty pissed about that since the only other pair i have doesn't fit me. While i was pooping (which has left me feeling terribly refreshed), i read a lovely poem on the wall of the stall: "HERE I SIT, BROKIN HARTED. TRIED TO SHIT, BUT ONLY FARTED."