Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

This morning I was surprised how dirty and dusty my kids were from the previous day!  Elliot had dirt everywhere!  EVERYTHING was coated in red dust!

We dressed, filled up on breakfast in the motel lobby (cereal, yogurt, bagels with cream cheese, juice and fresh fruit) and hopped back into the van to check out Mesa Verde National Park. 

We planned to take a tour of one of the cliff villages at the park, so I ran into the visitors center when we arrived, stamped our National Park Passport, grabbed a few tokens as keepsakes and postcards, and purchased the tickets for the 11:00 AM  tour for Cliff Palace.  The ranger told me it was about an hour drive up to the tour location, so we quickly headed up the mountain, stopping at only a few places.  I had no idea the park was located so far up! 

As we drove though we could see damage from previous forest fires and even spotted a few deer along the way.

Elevation 8,572 feet

It was a short hike to the top of the overlook, and it was VERY windy.

Lightening has caused many fires in this area over the years.

Hiking over to the tour meeting place, you could see where the fire went through and didn't.

Ethan and Everett overlooking Cliff Palace.

Cliff Palace

The dwellings were thought to have been constructed around 1200 A.D.

Hiking down to the structures.

Then climbing up and in.

Elliot was a very patient rider until I stopped to listen.

Elliot was not really interested in the tour, he was pretty ornery and loud, so I took him off my back and let him and Everett play in the dirt/sand/dust while the rest of us listened to the Ranger and the information about the Pueblo structures and ways of life.  It was really interesting.

Elliot enjoyed playing in the dust.

   

The trees were inserted in this structure to act as the floor of this dwelling.  They have been preserved all these years.

More dust piles to play in.

This is an area where they might have baked things such as food or clay for building materials.

An ancient kiva, a room for ceremonies or gatherings (or possibly drying food?)

The pit in the center was for a small fire.

See the people at the overlook, that is where we started from.

Inside one of the structures.

The park ranger/tour guide had said that the hike down was unsafe for Elliot to do, so he rode on my back, but he said the hike up would be fine for him, even fun with all the ladders he could climb, so we let him walk. 

At the first step he decided he wanted to do something “HIS WAY” so the tantrum started and there was no stopping it.  Derrick and I ended up sharing the task of hauling a kicking-and-screaming-Elliot to the top of the mountain, up ladders and over narrow steps.  A few people on the tour said “Well, at least he waited to throw his fit until the end of the tour!”.  Yes, there is a bright side.

Hemenway House with the evidence of a fire up at the top.

Spruce Tree House, the 3rd largest village, is a short hike from the museum.

Spruce Tree House

We explored the park a little more, enjoyed looking at the items in the museum, and helped the kids fill out their Junior Ranger Booklets before we headed out of the park. The kids showed their completed booklets to the Ranger at the visitor center, and we got back into the van for our long day trip to our condo in Utah.

Along the way we were going to pass by the Four-Corners Monument, so we decided to stop in and get our photos.  

The monument was located on the Navajo Indian Reservation, and Derrick and I were surprised how dumpy it was as well as the area around it.  It was some of the most poor areas we have ever driven though, with trash, broken bottles, families and children picking up bottles along the roadside,  roaming animals and shacks/yurts for houses spread all over the desert.  It was really sad seeing how much poverty was in this area, and with them charging $5/person for the monument, you would think they could at least afford to put locks on the bathroom (pit toilet) doors?  Sad.

They had a handful of Indian craft vendors and artists, some selling pottery, bead necklaces, arrows, arrow tips, tools, ornaments, sand art and other items.  We purchased a handmade cross ornament for our Christmas tree.

We drove all along the base of Arizona, having no cell service the whole time (being in the middle of no-where), and then finally crossed Glenn Canyon near Lake Powell and was back into modern living.  It was night and day, the difference between those living on the reservation and those living off the reservation.  Even the streets were free of garbage and shattered bottles.  Honestly, it was very sad seeing how much poverty was on the reservation.

Notice the small house in the middle left side of the photo, all alone on the reservation.

Navajo Generating Station, a coal-fired powerplant

We continued along our 6 hour drive, eating snacks, reading books, playing Nintendo DS, watching movies and doing activities the kids packed in their boxes, and by the time we crossed into Utah the sun was setting and it was getting dark, but the sunset against the clouds was beautiful.  The kids commented it looked like a huge tornado in the sky.  

The trip was really uneventful, and we arrived in St. George at 9pm their time, just in time for us to get the last burrito at El Pollo Loco before they closed.  Derrick and I first discovered it when we were in Texas.  I love their Chicken Avocodo Burrito, it is so yummy, stuffed full of cabbage, cilantro, pinto beans, pico salsa, chicken, and fresh avocado chunks.  MMMM!  It hit the spot!