Visiting Davy Jones' Locker

If you're familiar with the Pirates of the Caribbean, you might remember the slightly odd scene after Jack gets swallowed by a Kraken and has to be rescued from Davy Jones’ Locker, which is interpreted as his own personal hell of being stuck with himself on his boat and no sea.

Now, it just so happens that a personal hell like Jack Sparrow’s exists, and it’s in the beautiful landlocked state of Colorado. There’s a giant 85,000 acre Great Sand Dunes National Park that’s home to some of the tallest sand dunes in North America (some as high as 750 feet). And, these sand dunes are about as far from the ocean as you can get. How did so much sand get there? Well, according to their website, "the story of their formation is still being discovered," which I take to mean that they don’t really know. But I have a hunch it has something to do with a tentacle-bearded undead sailor…

The fun thing about dressing up like Jack Sparrow in public... is that you are bound to make friends with other people who do it as well. And, there are quite a number of women who find it fun and challenging to dress up like this popular fictional hero, too. The details on this costume make it a particularly challenging one, along with the increasing number of experts who WILL JUDGE your waistcoat’s buttons for screen accuracy.

So my friend Sans organized this expedition down to the Sand Dunes with myself and two other impersonators. (I’m easy to pick out because I was the shortest Sparrow there.) And then we basically spent the day taking many, many, many pictures of ourselves acting out various scenes from the locker. My favorite pic is when two of the Jacks ran up the Dune, and the perspective was so perfect it made the Jack closest to me look like she had two consciences.

Sadly, we didn’t have a goat, but Sans made sure to bring the other necessary props: a rock, a peanut, a jar of dirt, a rope, etc. to make our experience as authentic as possible. I even had the pleasure of being Diaper Sash Jack at one point. I hope to go back soon, with or without the crepe wool. What a beautiful park! And the short drive made it so much more worthwhile than being swallowed alive by a giant squid.