Mesa Verde National Park

 

We finally made the trek up to Mesa Verde National Park and found it stunning. Not only was the cultural history amazing, but the natural beauty of the park took me back. I could spend days and days just hiking around, in fact the campground in the park looked very inviting!

One of the most wonderful things about the park, and there are many wonderful things, was the 20 mile drive that took you to the first major ruins, the Spruce Tree House. That drive really set the tone for the experience, and the amount of land the National Park Service set aside for this park really made the trip extra worthwhile.

We only scratched the surface and look forward to returning this winter. There was so much to see in the extensive museum and so many more ruins to check out. Even this time of year the park was busy, which was good to see, but it will be nice to return when things quiet down a bit.

And as it was, we made it just in time before the government shutdown, hopefully the park will open again soon!

Explorations: Salmon Ruins

 

By the time we got motivated yesterday it was midday and a long hike was vetoed by most in the household. We opted for a short walk and some local tourism. Salmon Ruins had been on our list since our arrival so we packed some water and headed out. 

It was amazing to see the various types of construction used by the many different peoples who have occupied the site though its history. And to see it all surrounded by neighborhoods of modern construction made it all that more interesting. 

It was scorching hot so we had the ruins to ourselves but we also did not linger as much as we would have liked to read the interpretive book given to us for our self-guided tour. We will certainly be back on a cool day in the fall. It got a thumbs up from everyone and we want to learn more when we are not melting in the heat. 

In Nova Scotia we waited until midday to head out to give everything a chance to warm up... that is defiantly not a good strategy here! 

We are learning.

Do you have any neat local tourist spots in your neck of the woods?

Road Trip

This weekend our road trip took us through an amazing diversity of climate and habitats... and all within a five hour drive from home.

We are now playing a bit of catch up and processing what we learned along the way. I expect there will be some new art and other makings coming from this experience. 

We made a very cool and unexpected side journey I will share later this week too!

It was short and sweet but worth every hour in the Jeep.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and have a great kick-off to the new week.

P.S. I am messin' with this here blog a bit this week so things might be changing around a little while I figure it out. 

Summer Along the San Juan River

 

While not officially summer just yet it sure seems like it here. This hike was at mid-day and it was a hot one. 

Field Notes:

: We hiked a long the same river trail we used in the spring. It was neat to see all of the changes over such a short but active time span. 

: There were many more wildflowers in bloom and the grasses were already going to seed.  

: While the butterflies and the bees we saw in spring were elusive there was no shortage of locust and cicada, loudly pronouncing their presence before they were even seen. 

: We saw cliff swallows going to and from nests made of river mud. We could hear the babies begging for food. 

: A heron flew overhead to find a perch on the rocks overlooking the river. So majestic. 

: We spotted what we thought could have been a beaver dam and possibly just a quick glimpse of the beaver swimming. It dove down so quickly it is hard to be sure.

: The lizards were not as active this time of day but we did spy a few in the shade. 

It will be fun to return in the fall to see a new season along the river.

Do you have a favorite trail you like to see in all seasons? What do you like best about it?

~~~

The kids and I are off on a little road trip to Grandma's house. 

I will still post a Make & Listen Along post on Thursday for those of you who would like to play along. I would love to have you join us!