Still road-tripping Aug. 6th

Once again I was awed by the beauty of the land that is in our country. Today, we drove through a gorgeous section of Colorado – highway 550 going north from Durango to Montrose. Though the road was much curvier than most roads I’ve been on, it was worth it to see the tree-covered mountains, occasionally showing the red and brown earth underneath. You could literally see cascades – layers of mountains in the distance, just like the poems, songs and movies we’ve all encountered them in. Still, not as awesome as Monument Valley (I tend to prefer jutting rocks and sand to the green trees) but I thoroughly enjoyed the drive.

But, I promised to talk about Mesa Verde. In case you haven’t heard of Mesa Verde, it’s a National park in southern Colorado, dedicated to actual cave dwellings that were found in the cliffs of the mesas. Anasazi or Ancestral Puebloans as they are called, built homes in the sides of cliffs within natural alcoves. They are a fascinating sight and learning about the people and how they lived was very interesting. The biggest cave dwelling in North America is the Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde. Over a hundred people lived in this home with over a hundred rooms built from bricks and mortar. We enjoyed exploring it and a few other dwellings at the park.

Of course, last night was also quite an adventure. We camped in the park, apparently during monsoon season. So, we set up our tent in the afternoon and Vienna reminded us to put up the rain cover. We almost didn’t but figured it only took a few minutes so we did. Thanks to Vienna we avoided a flood in the tent. We still spent the night in the tent with the wind and rain alternatingly keeping us awake. It sounded a lot worse than it turned out to be but it was scary while it lasted. At least we know we have a good, sturdy tent!

The next couple of days are going to be much more relaxing. We’re in a lovely hotel in Gunnison, CO, surrounded by mountains and fresh air. We’ll be driving little and relaxing a lot.