Mesa Verde

Our two week, National Park canyon-tour began with a visit to Mesa Verde, which is home to the oldest cliff dwellings in the country - built over 800 years ago. After a quick drive through southern Colorado, (and almost hanging a right and heading back to Telluride) we entered the long and winding road to see the impressive ruins. We joined a park ranger tour and climbed up and down narrow slot canyons to get to the Cliff Palace, where we learned about the settling of the Pueblo Indians and how they made their home on the Mesa. The hike was both beautiful and really interesting AND the boys were good sports (minus the fact that Hank almost pushed Grant into a twenty foot deep Kiva for taking "cuts" and Jack getting a $500 warning for picking the pine needles off of a National Park tree). However, onward we continued...to a cowboy town called Bluff, UT, where we stayed at the renowned Recapture Lodge...a total throw-back. Although the town had a population of only 250, we had a fantastic dinner and loved the fact that we felt like we were staying in a youth hostel surrounded by a bunch of friendly Europeans. But mostly, the Recapture Lodge was the beginning of the incredibly scenic drive through Monument Valley - quite possibly the most spectacular on earth! Next stop...Grand Canyon