Mesa Verde NP

5-26-09

This is Mesa Verde NP--home of "cliff dwellers"---a group of Ancestral Puebloans who lived here between 1100 and 1300 A.D. Amazing, isn't it? This particular cliff-dwelling is called Cliff Palace and we took a guided tour with a ranger to take a closer look at these very unique homes. In this view, we are way up on top of the cliff...and we are going to climb our way down to the ancient dwellings and listen to our guide tell us about the homes and the people and then we are going to climb back out again.

I tried not to think about the fact that we were on the side of a cliff and there was at least 500 ft. between us and the ground. Even a teenager thought this was a "cool" tour.

There are more places to see in Mesa Verde like Balcony House which requires much more climbing of ladders, crawling through tunnels, and steep and narrow walkways and I figured I was better off leaving well enough alone.

5-27-09

We drove to 4 corners monument in Navajo country where the states of Colorado, Arizona Utah, and New Mexico meet.

Jesse met a fellow Steelers fan here and Randy and I tried a "Navajo taco"

The "taco" part is Navajo frybread and OMG, they are so good! This taco didn't have meat, just beans, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and picante sauce and it was delicious. I still think about Navajo tacos and will have to learn how to make them myself.

We are in California!

I am way behind on posting...especially photos. I will get caught up, but I might have to work backwards now. We are just 20 miles south of Fresno and getting ready to go to Sequoia NP tomorrow. We have been to Mesa Verde NP, Colorado; 4 Corners; Navajo Country; Grand Canyon AZ; Las Vegas, NV; Death Valley NP, CA; Lone Pine, CA (right next to Sierra Nevada Mts.) and now Kingsburg, CA. We have seen so much and enjoyed so much. And each time I think how can we top what we have just seen...and we do. This country is amazing and everyone should take a chance to see and enjoy it.

Leaving Moab

This is newspaper rock...a giant rock used by Native Americans to draw/carve various designs...maybe to let others know what is going on in the area, who has passed that way, etc. Hard to believe that these petroglyphs are a thousand years old and more. I am so glad that we are working hard to preserve things like this before they are gone.

Driving south on 191, we passed this gorgeous arch on the side of the road. What a nice surprise. Sometimes you don't have to be in a national park to see great sights.

Still in Moab UT

Here's Jesse riding his new Trikke...it is quite the conversation piece. Most people have never seen one and lots of people stop Jesse to ask him about it.

This sign that says "No dogs allowed in park" with a photo of a tiger cracked us up.

These rock formations are called the "Monitor and Merrimac"--appropriate for all of our family and friends back in Virginia.

More Dead Horse photos

I love this picture of Jesse with his arm around me. He is feeling a little protective of me since I found it so hard to get close to the wall. Don't tell him how sweet I think he is at this moment!

We were amazed watching these people out on this rock. What are they crazy? There's nothing between them and rolling right off that rock!

Another view...

Dead Horse SP Utah

When we saw this view, we thought it was the most amazing view yet. Randy even said that we didn't need to see Grand Canyon after this, but that's just crazy talk. Of course, we have to see the Grand Canyon, but still this view took our breath away.

The story behind the naming of this state park is a sad one though. The story goes that cowboys way back when would use this natural jut of land as a corral to round up wild horses that lived in these parts from when the Spanish brought them over and after they gathered all the horses, they would choose the horses they wanted to take with them and leave the rest of the horses without any way out and without any water, so of course the rest of the horses left behind died right where the cowboys left them. How sad is that and what the hell were they thinking. I hate to hear about any kind of cruelty to animals...and what a way to name a state park. They do realize that this is not a proud moment of our history, right?

Arches NP

On Wed. May 20, we visited Arches NP in the evening. There are all kinds of rock formations in this park and the land goes on forever.

This is Balanced Rock. Amazing how a rock can sit on another rock for so long when nothing is holding it there.

This rock formation is called the "Three Gossips."

Hard to see, but there are 2 arches in this photo.

And this is Delicate Arch. You can hike up to it and get a closer view, but we were worried about it getting dark, so we elected not to make the hike which meant we didn't get the full experience, but we did get this fabulous sunset.