Okay so there is a lot to talk about tonight! A LOT. We have
been packing the last few days with activities. So many activities that we’ve
been utterly exhausted once we hit our hotels each night. Add to that the fact
that a lot of these places have no cell service (I’m looking at you ALL of
Arizona) and questionable internet capabilities, this blog has been mildly
neglected. But no more!
Yesterday we left Pagosa Springs, CO in the early morn and
set out for Mesa Verde National Park in Cortez Colorado. We made it there in a
few hours and drove to the visitor’s center where we got our National Parks
Passports stamped (hat tip to my friend Elizabeth and my “Mommy 2” Joan for
that awesome travel idea!) We then drove the car to Spruce Tree House, one of
the cliff dwellings that you can walk through.
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| Spruce Tree House! |
From there we took a hike along the Petroglyph trail where
we got to see some nature (lizards!) and some history (petroglyphs!) and some
gorgeous views.
Then it was back into the car and off to Four Corners!
And there we stood in four states at once. And we stood
for/in freedom!
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| very well traveled feet |
It was funny being at Four Corners because I’ve been there
once before when I was about 6. As we drove up to the monument the memory of
being there before flooded back to me. It looks pretty much the same now as it
did sixteen years ago, a fun little bit of nostalgia for me.
Then we got back in the car! I know, you weren’t expecting
that, caught you by surprise I’m sure. Anyhoo, we got back in the car and
started driving to, drumroll please…. The Grand Canyon! And how grand it is
indeed. It wasn’t too far away from Four Corners, but for some reason the drive
felt like forever to me. It could have been the vast expanses of red rock and
not a heck of a lot else that made it drag on. We did end up driving through a
desert rain shower which turned out to be pretty great (once I figured out how
to turn on the windshield wipers) because it washed the car!
We made it to the Grand Canyon right before sunset and
managed to make it to a good viewing spot to snap a few pictures before it got
dark.
After the sun went down we enjoyed the amazing desert night sky. I also tried really really hard to take pictures of the amazing desert night sky. I failed in this endeavor. I couldn't figure out how to set my camera to take longer exposures and I ended up with about 10 pictures that were pure black before I gave up. I'll spare you those sorry attempts. Needless to say, the stars were absolutely beautiful. You could see so many that you could see the curvature of the earth. That's a lot of stars.
SO then we got really cold and drove out of the canyon to find a hotel (which I know Morgan detailed at length in her post) which also proved to be quite the challenge for us. We ended up having to drive back through the park and then about another 30 miles to Tuba City, Arizona to find a hotel. And yes, on our way back through the Grand Canyon we met the most terrifying of creatures, the Evil Elk.
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| not our actual Evil Elk, but a close proxy |
There he was, standing on the side of the road, menacingly. Thankfully he decided to stay put and we were safe. But seriously, if you ever find yourself at the Grand Canyon at night beware the Evil Elk, he could be lurking anywhere!
We made it to Tuba City (we saw no tubas by the way, mildly disappointing) and pulled up to our hotel which ended up being absolutely beautiful. We had really high ceilings and even a little patio that overlooked the pool. So it was nice to unwind in a really beautiful hotel after a very long day that was both fun and a little stressful.
And that's a wrap for Tuba City, more to come soon!
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