The drive from Colorado Springs through the mountains to Hooper in the San Luis Valley was full of beautiful mountain scenery. There are several mountain passes that separate the busy front range from the wide open spaces of the San Luis Valley of Colorado. We felt like we were in the middle of nowhere when we arrived in Hooper. It turns out that Hooper has a gas station, a post office, a hot spring, and a UFO watchtower, so we were probably just the next town over from nowhere.
The San Luis Valley is the largest alpine valley on earth. The valley has an average elevation of over 7,500 feet and is surrounded on all sides by the huge peaks of the Rocky Mountains. The valley feels like a desert but agriculture is the number one industry thanks to large underground aquifers. We told one of our neighbors in Rocky Mountain National Park that we were hoping to see the Great Sand Dunes National Park. They told us about the Sand Dunes Recreation hot springs and campground in Hooper. After climbing Pikes Peak, the thought of a hot spring sounded pretty appealing to me. So, we decided to make “Hooper Pool” our home base for our visit to the San Luis Valley.
One of the people we met described the Sand Dunes Recreation Sand Dune Pool as a true oasis. It really did feel like that. The hot pool was a welcome respite from the high alpine desert. We visited the pools at the campground several times because we enjoyed them so much. The pools are fed from an artesian well that is almost 4,500 feet deep. The large outdoor pool is about 98 degrees, which is the perfect temperature for cool nights. It looks out over the towering Sangre de Cristo mountains. The kids (and adults) had a blast swimming in the pool and jumping off the diving boards. Jamie and I enjoyed hanging out in the adults-only area, The Greenhouse, where there were several pools with temperatures up to 110 degrees – and a bar! Not bad for a small desert campground!
The main reason we wanted to visit the San Luis Valley was to see the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado. We spent a couple afternoons in the Great Sand Dunes National Park after the kids finished their homeschooling. In the park, the kids were able to learn about the wildlife in the area, learn about how the dunes were formed, and earn another Junior Ranger badge.
We hiked to the top of one of the large dunes and quickly realized that sand dune hiking is one whole heck of a lot harder than normal dirt and rock hiking. The views from the dunes were worth the slog up the sand mountain though. We also went sand boarding. Sand boarding is sort of like snowboarding and sledding but on sand. Wooden boards with waxed bottoms are used to sand board and you can absolutely fly down the dunes on them. You climb the steep dunes to board down them, so you “earn your turns” here. Jamie had one run (her only of the day) down a steep section of the hill. She looked like Clark on the saucer in Christmas Vacation and ended up with a face full of sand.
On our last day in Hooper, we decided to stop at a great roadside attraction known as the UFO Watchtower. The watchtower sits about 10 feet off the ground – pretty low for a watchtower. As the owner says, you are already 7.600 feet up so don’t need to be much higher. There is a registry inside the UFO office at the tower that documents over 200 UFO sightings on the property. They also have a UFO garden with energy vortexes where you can leave behind something for some good mojo.
Apparently, the San Luis Valley is one of the best UFO sighting locations in the world. I don’t know about that, but the star viewing was exceptional. We got to once again see the Milky Way in all its splendor and glory at night. We didn’t get to see any UFOs, unless some of the shooting stars we saw were actually ETs checking in with the mother ship.
Every time we leave some place, we always talk about how we wish we had more time there. I guess that Hooper is no different. There was something strangely appealing about being out in the middle of nowhere in the high mountain desert. I could definitely spend more time in the hot springs and staring up into the night sky. Come to think of it, we didn’t even have time to visit the Colorado Gator Reptile Park in the next town over…
