Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park

Kanab, UT

January 6, 2022

I was with my brother and his wife and two of his sons.  It was a gorgeous, gorgeous day: 50F, sunny, blue skies, no wind.  It was a perfect day.  We rented a snow board and searched for the best place to go sledding. We had been told, by the park ranger, that this is a tough time to come here to sled.  The sand is wet from the snow which makes it too thick to sled and the icy patches make it too fast to slide downhill. Her comments did not deter our enthusiasm.  Off we went.

We tried the areas devoid of snow and found that the heavyness of the snow caused a buildup and resistance as we attempted to go down the hill.  As a matter of fact, I could barely go more than three feet forward when I sat my big, fat as on the sled.  So we tried the snowy areas, and yes, we moved pretty  fast down the dunes.  As a matter of fact there were a few other groups on the dunes with us.  But my family was the only group that stayed with the snow. It was just too turbo charged for the others.

Mostly Clay and Brian went down the dunes but it was just as thrilling for me to watch them as they tried to maneuver the sled to thier advantage. Clay was the most agile on the board.  He rode it as if he was on a surf board.  He used his body weight and position to steer the board away from roots and brush that might cause him to crash. He mastered the board quickly.

As for me, I painfully discovered just how old and out of shape I am.  I attempted to climb from the bottom of the dune to the top and it was more than I could hanlde.  About half way up the hill, I had to surrender and ask for help.  So both boys came down from the top and attempted to drag my ass up to the top.  And it was a challenge for all three of us.  Every step forward for me resulted in a slide down the dunes.  I just couldnt get up.  It was funny and patheitc at the same time.  When I reached the top I told my brother if he recorded any of this moment, I would kick his ass.  He sadly and empathtiecally told me, "some moments are meant to be private." At that monent, I realized that my relationship with my nephews shifted.  I was no longer the one who took care of them.  From now on, they were going to take care of me.

It was a fun moment with them.