..........Arches National Park, Utah and Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado.

Yesterday, we traveled to Arches National Park in Utah. I saw some pictures on What's Crackalacky that really made me what to see this park. It was beautiful! We stayed only two miles from the park the night before which got us to the park early in the morning. There were some great trails; but, by 10:00 AM, it was already 94 degrees! That made hiking very far a real chore. We did about 98% of our visit to Arches via car and viewpoints along the way. Luckily, we saw the entire park. The map they gave us at the park gate made identification of all the sites a piece of cake. The heat and altitude got to me quickly as we did some very minor hiking.

After leaving Arches, we went southeast to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. This was another dynamite park. The cliff dwellings were amazing. They have discovered sites in the cliffs and on top of the mesa that date back to 1 A.D. (based on RCD). The people used the natural formations of the caves and overhangs to build their homes. From a distance, you can hardly see the settlements. The color of the rocks and mortar used all blends in with the natural surroundings. I was able to get close to one dwelling that was on top of the mesa. It was really something to touch buildings that had been built over 1,000 years ago. You can see that each sandstone building block had been cut square by many hits from tools. Most of the blocks seemed to be about 4" high, 8" long, and 4" deep (this is a visual estimate). Each one of those blocks had hundreds of marks from the tools. This obviously took much time and patience. In many cases, these people made their homes in vertical stories; much like a modern style apartment building. The Anasazi people must have had a great deal of vision in their lives to create such structures. As their population grew, they began farming the mesa above their homes to produce more food. Without warning, they vanished.

I'm sure that I will make mention of this again in the "post trip post"; but, I really have to hand it to the Department of the Interior and National Park Service. Every park we have been into contained very well-kept grounds, great maps, and very good park rangers. What a great way to spend some time with your family!!! We purchased a national parks pass for $80 before we left on the trip. That pass has got us into every park along the way. Many park entrance fees are $25+. The pass has paid for itself and then some in just a little over two weeks.

We left Mesa Verde late in the evening (after 6:00 PM) and headed to Durango, CO for the evening. I think everyone else did the same thing. It took over an hour to finally find a room for the night - what a roach hotel is the Spanish Trails Suites!!! Yes, it was as bad, if not worse, than the name implies. I don't believe that I've ever spent the night in a more "questionable" establishment.

This morning, we left Durango, CO with our eyes on going southeast through New Mexico. Our next aiming point is San Antonio, Texas. We went to an internet cafe in Durango this morning for coffee and wireless. There we got online, found, and booked a room for tonight in Roswell, NM. Yes, the home of the aliens! I missed the annual Alien Festival by only three days! Oh well, I hope you enjoy the pictures.

..........Arches National Park, Utah










..........Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado.

.........this sign is a warning at a rest area in New Mexico. "Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?" I get out of the car, and I'm constantly scanning the ground for these little beauties.