We're in the home stretch. Home looms ahead.
We LOVED Mesa Verde. I am so glad I pushed to go there on our way back. We spent one long afternoon at the top of the mesa and squeezed in two Ranger-led tours before staying in their lodge. Incredible. I think the boys were just as impressed. There are over 600 homes built into the cliff-sides by "pre-Puebloian peoples." (Apparently "Anasazi" is a politically incorrect term these days, meaning "ancestral enemies" and the tribes who have descended from these people don't like it to be used.)
I'm not sure what has been my favorite. I am in love with Colorado, although the eastern half has no point in being around at all. We drove through green mountain passes twice and felt as if they almost equaled the Beartooth Highway, although there was less snow visible. And we still didn't see a big-horned sheep or mountain goat. (You have tried to guess my animal photo in the last post, right?)
We were at a grocery store in Nowhere, CO when a scruffy-graying-bearded-guy-in-a-pickup (that narrows it down to all the men in the state over 40) commented on our distance from home and then nicked my plans to drive through Santa Fe. He called it a "dusty big city" and suggested a different route. I wish I could tell him we'd taken his advice and had a lovely drive.
The kids have been great. They've had lots to do in the car and we haven't had any "I'm bored" comments at all. We have had to confiscate Bug's books to make him look out the window at times. We've given them some choices-- longer but prettier, or faster and maybe time to read aloud before bed, etc., and they've usually opted for the scenic route. We packed a huge box of books and only Bug has read more than one. (At least we didn't fly.)
Enough chat. Here are photos.
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| The photo of the Tetons that everyone must take |
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| Out by the Snake River, looking unsuccessfully for moose |
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| Can you see the Triceratops femur? Almost as wide as the photo, 4' long |
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| Petroglyphs at Dinosaur National Monument |
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| Bug and Pook working on one of many Junior Ranger badges |
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| Long House at Mesa Verde National Park |
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| Cliff Palace |
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| Goodbye National Parks. We're on our way homeward. |
Love reading your travels, as these are all places we too went this summer on our "epic trip out west". Dinosaur NM (Chloe was sad to not get to climb on the big dinosaur out fron of the visitors' center), Yellowstone, Mesa Verde and even Beartooth Pass)! 10K miles and hitting Grand Canyon, Half Moon Bay, Yosemite, Hoover Dam, Arches, Yellowstone, Devil's Tower, My. Rushmore and the rest -- a trip we won't forget. And so cool to see when other folks we know visit these great places too!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your latest adventures, we have decided to visit Mesa Verde in Oct. after our trip to Lincoln, NE and Steamboat Springs. We are hoping for NO snow!
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