The largest sand dunes in North America is what I Googled. I was more than a little surprised to learn that the Great Sand Dune National Park & Preserve was located in Colorado, as I grew up in Nebraska and had never heard of it. Nestled between two mountain ranges at an elevation of 7,700+ feet it is an awe inspiring sight to behold.

The 3 and a half hours that my wife and I spent trudging through the sand to get to the top of the first ridge of sand dunes was exhausting. In the movies they make it look far more easy for people to wander through endless sand dunes than the reality is. Plenty of sand surfers were having a crack at the dunes though.

Definitely worth the drive if you are in the area! 

Never paint your trees brown, right?

Well, if they are Ponderosa Pine you might take a look at the first four pictures as they defy the common wisdom of grey bark trees.

The other thing that I noticed was how in thick stands of pines, the grass has to grow up through a substantial layer of pine needles.

A cool breezy day on the eastern shore of the lake. The light was changing minute by minute which obviously affected how the water looked.

Don't get locked into one stone color, you can and should be willing to explore your pallet.

Don't let yourself be limited by preconceived notions of how terrain should look.