The Great Sand Dunes

Looking back, remembering all of those years in the past, Michelle stared up at the great towering dune that lay before her. The golden yellow sand, she could tell, was slowly warming up in the heat of the morning sun that cast a small shadow before her feet. Michelle gazed over her shoulder to see who had followed her across the small creek, which ran at the foot of the giant dunes. With a small sigh, she realized that no one had followed her yet, and for good reason too. She noticed that she had forgotten to help with carrying down all of the coolers and chairs that the parents used while the kids went up the dune to play. So, she dropped her shoes in the sand, and began the short journey back across the small brook, still cool from the chilling night air. As she walked across, she felt the familiar trickle of water over her feet, and the cold sand, squished beneath her toes. She had to force herself to continue, however, so as not to get lost in the moment of memories and relaxation. So, she trudged, slowly on in the ankle deep water, across the way to all the parked cars.
Now, her hands full of lawn chairs, lunch-filled coolers, and blankets, Michelle made her way back across the creek for the third time. This time however, she was accompanied by all of her family and friends, which made her feel much more comfortable than before. With a party of thirty-nine people, the small stretch of dry sand at the bottom of the monstrous dune became much more crowded than it had been before. Pretty soon it was covered with lawn chairs, umbrellas, blankets, coolers, and lots of assorted sports equipment that had been strewn all across the ground. As Michelle looked around her at the growing clutter, she realized that all of her friends were gone. It wasn’t until she looked up at the mountain of sand however, that she realized they had already begun their long trek up the first dune.
Michelle moved quickly to a cooler, found her water bottle and put it in her Camelback, and then raced up to the slope towards her friends. Once she arrived at the dune, she had to use her hands and feet, crawling because of the steep incline, in order to make better progress. So, Michelle climbed as quickly as possible, hoping to reach her friends before they got too far up the dune themselves. When she finally reached them however, she was exhausted from the sprint up the dune, and needed to take a break with the others. Finally, once she regained her strength, had some water, and spent some time talking with her friends, they continued. They went the whole rest of the way, without stopping once until they got to the very top of the dune, where they all collapsed from exhaustion, sucking in deep breaths of the high altitude air. When they finally stood up however, they realized just how high up they really were. Looking down at the parents far below, they saw the enormity of their accomplishment, and they were ready to tackle the next dune with ease, no matter what. As Michelle gazed around at the beauty of the golden sand around her, with the wind slowly blowing around her ankles, she realized how truly beautiful it was up there in the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado. As she glanced around at her friends, she smiled a faint smile, and began heading up the next dune.