Our family’s most memorable ranger is Fred Bunch, chief of resource management at Great Sand Dunes National Park. We first encountered Fred during the evening ranger program as we camped at the Dunes on a family vacation in 1988. To accustom us to the high altitude of the park (8200 feet), he said, he had all of us sing a song, seemingly without end: “There was a lady named Mrs. Grady/I used to court her/I mean her daughter/Every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday …” And on and on until we were out of breath! We were fortunate to see Fred again at future ranger programs as we continued to camp at our favorite park. During one of those trips, Fred was manning the entrance station. As I handed him our fee, I started singing, “There was a lady named Mrs. Grady …” He broke out in laughter. That was the same reaction when my wife and I approached him in the Dunes parking lot in 2007, and I started singing the old familiar ditty. He soon began mouthing the lyrics, adding he had not “sung that song in years.” At home I wrote a newspaper story about our first trip to the park as “empty nesters” filled with memories of camping with our children and of those wonderful ranger programs. I sent him a copy, and in a year or two we received a Christmas card from Ranger Bunch. Last year I sent an email to his address to find out if he was still at the Dunes. Yes, he replied, 36 years! He began his message by saying that our contact had “made his day.” Thanks, Fred. But I want you to know that meeting you and attending your programs in the late ’80s and early ’90s absolutely “made” our vacations to the Great Sand Dunes.
Sincerely,
Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve
How can something that is constantly shifting stand up to 750 feet tall? This southwestern park features the largest sand dunes in North America, and the key to their extraordinary height seems to lie in the combination of strong opposing winds and the presence of rivers and creeks, which capture drifting sands and redeposit them back on the dunes. Some of these remarkable hills are formations known as star dunes, molded by complex wind patterns into multi-pronged shapes, which look a bit like starfish from above.
State(s): Colorado
Established: 2004
“They have always been our favorite place to vacation.”
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Greetings from Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve
Back in 2011 my husband was just finishing up chemotherapy. As part of his recovery we decided to purchase a small camper and go on the road to explore the National Parks and be surrounded by nature. When we were leaving the campground at the Great Sand Dunes National Park,…
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Greetings from Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve
I visited a national park for the first time in August of 2022. Growing up in urban New Jersey, it was quite a culture shock to suddenly be amidst the San Juan mountains of Colorado. I went to the Great Sand Dunes National Park as part of my orientation for…
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Greetings from Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve
I visited when this used to be a National Monument and returned years later when it grew up to become a National Park. Forest, river, sand dune, mountains topped with snow capped peaks I see a natural layer cake.
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