The Milky Way at Great Sand Dunes

The Score: PB&J=0  McDonald’s Iced Tea = 7

Well I am here at McDonald’s again so I can access some free wifi.  I am in a town called Alamosa.  I should be photographing the dunes this morning but a Ranger stopped by my car last night and said I would have to leave the park since he believed I would fall asleep waiting for sunrise which would make me a “camper” which he called a misappropriation of funds.  The campsite was full when I got there so I couldn’t do that.    He said I had to at least leave the park and pull off somewhere to sleep.  I didn’t feel comfortable sleeping on the side of the road so I decided to find a hospital or walmart to spend the night.  

Not all is in vain though I did get a few shots at sunset.  I am debating whether or not to return to the park as it is not to far away 45 minutes maybe and alas there is no way I can make the Durango Narrow Guage Railway since their last train leaves at 9:30 am. Last night I did get some wonderful Milky Way photos in the dunes. The town of Alamosa lit the clouds in the area with the long exposure.  The photographs get noisy once you blow them up but thats to be expected.  There is software out there to help with that too.