Who Could Resist a Road Trip Like This?! - Day 3

     I'll get back to reviewing books in my next post, but I had to finish sharing about our great Southwest road trip.

     In my last post, I shared about the amazing day we had at the Grand Canyon.  

     We headed out of Flagstaff early and took off northeast toward the Four Corners area.  Our goals were Four Corners and mostly, Mesa Verde.  We were staying that night in Durango.  Ahhh.....

     We weren't long out of Flagstaff before the topography changed drastically.  Still lots of mountains, but the trees were gone.  Just like that.  Vamoose!  It was also pretty sparse as far as towns and people go.  That part of the state is on the Navajo reservation.  

      We discovered that my tail light was out when we made a pit stop, so we went to the next town (quite far down the road) because we had seen a billboard for a NAPA auto parts store.  We finally found the store and got the bulb.  This was in Kayenta, Arizona, which is at the base of Monument Valley.  We could see some of the rock formations but, because of that stinkin' tiny light bulb, we didn't have time to drive out there.  We still had several miles before Four Corners and Mesa Verde.

   




 I'm not sure what I had expected Four Corners to be, but it is in the middle of nowhere.  That still
doesn't take away from the fact that it was totally cool to be in four states at once!  










We got in line to take our pictures on the monument, then shopped at all the little stalls.  They were on all four sides, so you were shopping in each state.  We shopped in four states in about 30 minutes!  That's not something you do every day!  Or ever!

     We used the facilities, aka outhouse, lol, and headed on our way.





 

     Next stop, Mesa Verde.  

     Unbelievably gorgeous.  

     Denice looks so cute and I look like a dork.

     I don't think I was ready when our guest photographer took the picture.  But, oh well, right?

  

     We stopped at the visitor center and got the scoop on a self guided tour.  It was already late afternoon and we didn't want to miss seeing the Spruce House, so that was our plan.






  It's quite a drive on a twisty mountain road from the Visitor's Center up to the pueblos, but it was worth it.  

 I know, right?

  We made it!  

The last known date that these dwellings were inhabited was the 1300's.

 

              If walls could talk.

      It was inhabited by the Ancestral Pueblo people.  They lived in the dwellings for over 700 years.  To say it is amazing is an understatement.

      We tore ourselves away from there to make it to our stop for the night...Durango, Colorado.

     It really is colorful!  I've been all over Colorado, but had never been to Durango.  Let's just say, we would have been happy to stay there for a while!  

     As we were coming into town, gawking at the breathtaking scenery, a bear crossed the road.  Right in front of us!

     We had now seen elk, deer, squirrels, and a big black bear!  He was heading across that road on a mission...and made a beeline right to a house by the road.  He probably was a regular "visitor" there and knew where their trashcans were.

     We were so surprised that we didn't get a picture!  Such disappointment, because it isn't every day you see a bear cross the road right in front of your car.  But the next morning, as we were heading out of town, we found his portrait!

                                          So we were happy!  :-)

 

     The rest of the trip was uneventful, comparatively speaking.  But it was a trip of memories and beauty and wonder.  I'll forever be thankful that Denice and I got to see all of it.  And we both added two states to our list, and two National Parks.  

     Thanks you so much for reading about our great Southwest road trip!