Mesa Verde

Way back when we had our 'family meeting' to determine which places we would visit (albeit quickly) on this trip (versus all the incredible places we would have to drive past due to lack of time and funds) Jonathan only had one request - that we visit Mesa Verde.  He had to wait until the very end of the trip to get his wish, be we got 'er done!  :)  And he was just as enchanted with it as he had imagined he would be.  A pretty good finale to our trip, I would say.

Since we spent the night in Cortez, CO, we were only about 15 minutes from the base of Mesa Verde.  Of course, once there you have a long, winding drive up to the top with absolutely breathtaking views all along the way.  At one lookout point we heard our names called and saw it was Hal and Beverly, Stephen's wonderful parents.  What a lovely surprise!  I just love these folks and can't wait to get to know them better.  What a fun couple!

We headed up to the Visitor's Center where we saw beautiful wild horses running loose.  Pretty cool.  Following a quick lunch in a little picnic area we headed up to the parking area for the Cliff Palace hike.  I decided to stay in the car and work on my postcards (that I had been collecting all along the trip but had never written on a single one!) while the rest went on the hike down into Cliff Palace.  Truthfully, I had been a bit worried about that hike because of my extreme fear of heights.  When Marvin got back he told me that I had made the right decision.  It was a steep hike and there were several ladders that would have done me in completely.  sigh.  Oh well.  I truly had a lovely day writing out my postcards and touring the museum.  Plus, I didn't die on a ladder so that is all good, eh?  ;D  I was so glad that Jonathan got to see his favorite place and take a lot of photos.  He was excited about it all.

We left Mesa Verde in the late afternoon to make the journey over to Alamosa to our hotel.  We stopped for a quick supper at McDonalds in Durango, not because of the food choice, but to be quick... but 'quick' turned out to be 45 minutes at a fast food place!!  We had a beautiful drive over Wolf Creek Pass but wish it had been full daylight in order to see it better.  But I have to say that the area between Pagosa Springs and Alamosa is about as pretty an area as I have seen.  Lots of horse and cattle ranches nestled in the mountains.  Just beautiful!

Today pretty much ended the 'official' part of our trip.  Kind of melancholy, yet we are all probably ready to be back home.  Home is good.  And isn't it wonderful to feel that way.  :)