Utah Arizona Colorado

Having a hard time with internet access as I'm crossing the desert, found a weak connection at the Mesa Verde Campground today. Will upload what I've got to stay caught up. I've been typing each night so at least it was fresh in my mind.
9-28

School at Archview Resort Moab

Started off early this morning, I wanted to drive as far as Monticello Utah which to my estimation was about 101/2 hours away from Boise. Hmmm I’m sitting in a camp ground ten miles from Moab Utah (60) miles from Monticello in my tent (set it up in the dark, oh yeah!) settling in for the night. It got dark so I thought I better find a place quick. Archview Resort. Only one other couple camping near me tonight, so far. The highway is really noisy though. Good thing I travel with ear plugs!! J

I stood on a pile of red ants today at a view point on I-70. I wasn't aware of it at first then I looked down and on my gosh, my feet were covered in them. My feet must have been so dirty by that point they didn't even bite. I was wearing my flip flops and Capri pants too…ouch. No ants in my pants I can report!

Tomorrow I head to Mesa Verde via the four corners. Which was rebuilt and now run by the Native Americans which means an entrance fee. I’m anxious to see how they set it up. I can’t wait. I love being back here again. I love the desert. I love this part of Utah, its just so amazing. Colors and shapes and plants and open highways. It’s great! It makes me happy to be alive when I’m here.

9-29

Day two, internet found finally!! Had such a great day traveling through the desert. It’s so hard to be a person who wants to dawdle and take it all in when you’re supposed to be driving down the highway at 65 miles an hour.

Ooh wind gust. So glad I’m tucked away in bed right now, it’s really really windy here tonight. The big storm that brewed in the distance all day didn’t hit us but the wind that accompanied it did. I set my tent up between gusts.

I’m in Mesa Verde right now. The National park. It’s fantastic. Once again like no other park I’ve seen. And the bonus is that right now the “mesa verde” isn’t verde at all it’s the color of the rainbow…all the bushes are changing colors for fall. Its gorgeous! They had a big fire here years ago that burned 80% of the park so there are just a bunch of dead sticks everywhere surrounded by those bushes. Its really quite interesting looking. The dead trees add a certain feeling to the place. 

Four Corners Monument

Going back in time to earlier today...this morning I woke up to sunrise in Moab, it was great! The colors were amazing! Oh man I love it. That campground has everything, its very nice I liked it a lot but the HIGHWAY…how can cars and truck thunder down the road like that? What is it even echoing off of? My goodness! It was hard to sleep but I was comfortable at least.

I got a quick breakfast and headed out towards the 4 corners monument, Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico all meet there. The Navajo have taken ownership of the new place and they built it to suit them for sure! The 4 corners are completely surrounded by stalls for the Indians to sell their goods. The whole place is amazing though, they did a good job. 3 bucks to get in is worth it I thought. But then, I love turquoise. J

After all my dilly dally-ing I headed on into Cortez (blech) the women are hairy faced there. Many of them. Maybe just the ones eating at Wendy’s??

I’m glad I ate before I got to the park by the way, the facilities are scarce in the park. Eat before you get here or come with enough time to hit the stores or café.

I got to the visitor center way later than I’d hoped but the ranger still had tickets to the big attractions available so off I went. I saw Cliff Palace and Balcony House. Those two are ranger led only. Why you ask? Well, besides the information you get from a ranger you should see the entrance/exits from these dwellings! Wow! Great wooden ladders you climb up to get out. It’s fantastic!!

So I did first one and then the other. I got stuck in the tunnel in the second one. Oops. Child bearing hips I guess.

At about the exit point I knew it would be way too late to head to Durango to find camping and so I went to the Park campground, they still had sites which is nice and cheap too. Still more than I budgeted 24 bucks but I went without dinner tonight so it’s all a wash.

All the facilities closed around here and the town nearest aren’t that near. The main reason to go without dinner is that the wind is really really blowing, I have no way of staking my tent down and I worried it would blow away in the drive between here and food so there you have it. I ate some yogurt and a handful of chips and that was enough to satisfy me. Tomorrow the café will be open for breakfast, though I’m not in a hurry tomorrow so I can make my own food at camp! Yeah! Good coffee!!

Exit the dwelling: UP!

It’s a funny thing about these National Parks. Mesa Verde has a unique look, as do they all and it’s got a very unique problem too. The cliff dwellings are falling apart and they can’t figure out how to repair them. I mean, the Indians built these amazing structures and we go and tramp on them hmmm why not just put a gate up and let us get near them. Just seeing them on the ground level is enough; you don’t need to look in the hole. And did you know there are thousands of Indians buried among these places?! Now that I wasn’t comfortable with at all. Indians take their burial grounds very seriously what must they think of us goobs there tramping on the place. I guess Park Service appointed by a president trumps Indian lands set aside, notice on a map their “lands” border this park…makes you think.

Cliff Palace

Tomorrow I’ll do a hike to some petroglyphs and then head on to Durango. Oh! It turns out Durango shuts down pretty early, the lady at the camp office said, I wouldn’t have had much luck going there in the evening as it was, so that is good. I feel better about being here. Plus I saw the sunset here and will likely see the sunrise again. 

Slept through sunrise. But the stars were out by the millions last night. What an amazing sky!!