Out West Trip: Day 10 (Holbrook, AZ to Mesa Verde, CO)

Today’s Highlights:
Standing in four states all at the same time, climbing down a ladder into a kiva in a cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde, finally getting to make smores.

The sun rose *very* early because of MST. I worked for a bit while Rob and the girls got pancakes and eggs from the KOA breakfast shack. We pack up and hit the road, stopping in at the Petrified Forest for a new bumper sticker. We turned off I-40 after heading east for a short while, and instead headed north toward Four Corners and Mesa Verde National Park. The scenery was very impressive, changing colors and vegetation a number of times. We stopped at Four Corners (NM, AZ, UT, CO) for photos and Navajo Fry bread.

four corners- 31 may 2011

In Cortez, we stopped at City Market to stock up on food for the evening, then headed up to mesa Verde National Park. The road up from Cortez to the campground was steep and winding. We registered at the campground store and then found a nice spot before continuing on to Far View and the sights. After a quick stop at the Far View Museum, we went to the Spruce House museum, watched a short film, and then walked down to the canyon to see the cliff dwelling. The loop road had lots of stops and some short hikes for us to stop at and see more pit houses and cliff dwellings.

mesa verde - 31 may 2011

Back down at the cmap store, we bought firewood and ice and then took showers. Showering was a bit complicated due to shared soap and broken knobs. Once at the site, we set up and made soup for dinner. Rob started a fire so the girls could toast marshmallows and make s’mores, the first of the trip, since MN and AZ had high fire danger.

mesa verde - 31 may 2011

My Trekaroo review of Four Corners.
My Trekaroo review of Mesa Verde.

Trip Stats:
Roadside Attractions: Four Corners (Total: 10)
States: Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado. (Total: 9 – GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, UT, CO)
State Plates Spotted: 6 plus Quebec and BC (Total: 41)
Miles: 324 (Total: 2794)
Gallons of gas bought: 38.4 (Total: 187.7)
Poptops Spotted: 2 (Total: 4)
National Park Stamps: Mesa Verde NP (Total: 5)
Miles walked: 2 (Total: 20.5)
Dollars saved with NP pass: 15 (Total: 60)
Continental Divide Crossings: None. (Total: 3)