Pink Coral Sands State Park

From day 1 I was placed on a “Need To Know” basis for many things.  I would be supplied with the necessary information when the time was right.  Starting with our first date things just seemed to click with us.  After we had been dating a short time, Colleen was to be leaving for a few days to see her brother graduate from basic training in the Marine Corps. Before she left I wanted to know where our relationship stood.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  We were sitting on the couch of the house she was renting at college.  I asked her what was on her mind in regards to us.  Her response was “You will have to just guess what I am thinking”.  As I drove away, I remember thinking “This woman is crazy”. However by this point I had already fallen for her.  Here we are 24 years later and not much has changed.  She continues to keep me guessing.  This next stop offers a little perspective.

One specific request from Colleen was to stop at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park while we were in southern Utah.  The sand has a coral pink color, especially when the sun hits it. The geology is quite interesting.  The sand comes from Navajo sandstone from the middle Jurassic period.  The same minerals and iron oxides that offer the beautiful rock formations in the area also provide the coral pink color of the sand.

Getting to the dunes was very accessible.  The parking lot was just a short walk from a platform that gave you a beautiful view of the dunes.  It was a spectacular day when we were there.  We took our running stroller up to the platform.  The view was nice, but we wanted to get closer.  We attempted to take our stroller out on the sand, but sunk almost immediately.  So we decided to try out our new Piggy Back Pack that we just bought.  This is a contraption that looks like the offspring between a backpack and a stadium seat.  It allows the rider to sit on a seat as they are carried piggyback.  The shoulder and waist straps offer support to the carrier so the weight is transferred to your hips.  This was the first time we really used it, so we had no idea how this was going to work.  Luckily there was a little ledge that Colleen could sit on while she saddled up.  At this moment I learned a lot about momentum and center of gravity.  I did not however drop her (yet).

So out we trekked in the sand.  It was a nice warm day, but windy.  For every stride I took, I lost about a half a stride sliding in the sand.  After walking about 100 yards ( It felt like 10 miles), I had to take a break.  At this point we were at the foot of the tallest dune.  As I looked at it, I contemplated if we could make it to the top.  Well I certainly was not going to let the question go unanswered.  So Colleen saddled up and we pressed on to the summit of the dune.  After the first 10 – 20 steps, I was not sure if we were going to make it.  Once again we stopped.  Then the wise words of our late friend Tom came to mind; “Breathe in, breathe out.  Put one foot in front of the other and do the next right thing”.  The right thing in this case was not to quit.  We had to stop a few more times, but we made it.  We just sat up there and enjoyed the view for awhile before our descent.  I learned later from the Park Ranger that the dune was about 220 feet high.

After we got back in the truck she told me that she first found this state park 7 years ago. She has been waiting 7 years to go here, but this is the first time I learned of this. Now 24 years later I still have to guess what is on her mind.

Following is a link to the YouTube clip from that day: