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| Arkansas River |
Left Minneapolis on Monday, September 18 with only 2 stops planned - Mesa Verde and Zion National Parks. Plan was to get to Colorado as quickly as possible so without much stopping made it to Salida, CO by the second day (spent a night in Kierney, NE). Salida sits along the Arkansas River and has many interesting shops and restaurants.
Day three's final destination was Mesa Verde National Park. Took US-50 through the mountains of Colorado. Took a gamble on US-50 as there is a major construction project with lots of warnings of delays and closings. It turned out to be a good gamble. The views were spectacular, and the delays were not bad. The delays allowed for more calm viewing time.
From US-50 you take a left in Montrose on US-550 and head higher and higher up the mountains. Fall colors brightened the slightly overcast skies. A short stop in Durango and a right turn onto US-160 then Mesa Verde National Park.
Pitched a tent in the campsite at Mesa Verde. It was a beautiful evening with a half-moon and lots of stars. It did rain a little over night, but I was dry and comfortable in the tent. Got up early and fixed a healthy breakfast before heading up the mesa to the cultural historic cliff dwellings.
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| Mesa Verde - Cliff Palace |
Advance reservations are needed for touring the dwelling sites. There is also a self-directed drive around the top to view several sites.
The Cliff Palace is the largest of the dwellings. The photos do not give a true sense of the immense size. The history of these dwellings is astounding. Click the link above for more information on the history. The Park rangers do a really good job of telling the story of the Ancestral Pueblo people that lived on the mesa and the cliffs for centuries but only in the cliffs for a very short time.
Took the self-directed road tour to see many dwellings and the progression of where and how the Ancestral Pueblo people lived here. Then toured Balcony House which is kinda beyond explanation (for real - it isn't known what this structure was truly used for).
One thing to keep in mind at Mesa Verde is that it is a cultural history site and not a geological site like the Grand Canyon and Zion. You are not permitted to wander paths and explore too much on your own. Thousands of people lived here for centuries so there could be artifacts nearly anywhere and everywhere.
From Mesa Verde, headed toward Zion to close the distance and realizing that it was going to be a day's drive and wanted to spend time in Zion. Spent the night in Bluff, Utah which is surrounded by dark red buttes.
From Bluff passed through Monument Valley which straddles the Utah-Arizona border. Took part of the drive tour on the Navajo Nation's park. Glad I had an all-wheel drive vehicle.
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| Glen Canyon Dam |
From Monument Valley to Glen Canyon Dam. This was an unexpected site along the way as my geography skills are quite challenged. There is a spectacular (I seem to use that word a lot) viewing site of the spillway side of the dam.
From Glen Canyon Dam to Zion National Park and through and into the Park via eastern entrance which takes you through incredible views and tunnels.
Zion National Park is crazy popular even in September - why aren't all these people at work or school?! I had been to Zion in the 1980's and enjoyed it very much. I figure it hasn't changed much since (it has been in here for centuries, right?) and didn't want to be part of the throngs of people. After a good night's sleep, I decided to take a back country hike along the Coalpits Wash trail, part of the Southwest Desert Wilderness Hiking Trails. I was the only one on the trail!! While not having the crazy views of mountains and buttes, this trail offered plant and flowers of so many types...the kind of hiking I love.
From Zion it is a short 3 hours to Las Vegas. Stay tuned for the Vegas leg. Click here for the video of this leg (westward bound) of the road trip.
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