Since we began vanlife in Summer 2022, we circled all over the West but never crossed the Colorado state border. We were saving it, you see, because we didn't want to just nick the surface of what is--wait for it--a goldmine of breathtaking landscapes. So en route to the East Coast from California (where we'd spent Winter 2023-24) we devoted an entire month to exploring CO. Still shaking off the cloak of winter when we arrived at the Four Corners region, we would encounter snow in the higher elevations for the entirety of our stay in Colorado. In fact, the spectacular Highway 34, which switchbacks westward through the peaks from Rocky Mountain National Park down toward Interstate 70, was still closed from winter's assault. Owing to this closure, and also major road construction at the park's eastern entrance in Estes Park, we decided not to visit that iconic place (save it for next time). Instead, we'd concentrate on the southern half of CO and go first to Mesa Verde National Park, then skirt through the San Juan Mountains to reach Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park before heading eastward to Great Sand Dunes National Park. Oh, no you don't, said Mother Nature, and sure enough, Interstate 50, the main E-W highway through the center of the state, was closed due to a bridge failure at Blue Mesa Reservoir. Yikes. Now in order to cross the Continental Divide on main roadways we'd have to make a huge circle up to Grand Junction and over to Denver, then south to Colorado Springs and Pueblo, a detour of some 350 miles! That's life in the mountains! So we detoured, but we never got to Great Sand Dunes, NP (the tallest sand dunes in North America, trapped in place by mountains?!!) We ran out of time, which means we'll be returning to that area as soon as we can!