Day 4: Monument Valley

Mark: WOW! Day four was one for the books. We started the day in Cortez, Colorado and took a short drive to Four Corners Tribal Park. This monument was just what you would expect, an elaborate marker in the middle of, well, four states. We took the photos everyone takes and the girls did some souvenir shopping. 30 minutes was plenty of time for our visit. All in all this was pretty cool, and we were glad we stopped.

Our next stop was Monument Valley Tribal Park. This park has been the backdrop for hundreds of movies and commercials. Upon entering, the clerk at the entry station stated the loop drive through the park was rough and would take about 1.5 hours to drive the 17-mile loop. I knew this from the reviews so we proceeded to the visitor center to shop for more souvenirs - I think we'll need to start shipping things home or we'll soon run out of room in our luggage. After shopping we started the loop drive through the park. This is where the WOW comment comes from. Saying the drive was rough was a massive understatement. This was by far the worst road I've ever travelled. Extremely bumpy, uneven, soft sand, and deep washboarding. It was slow going and nerve-racking but we made it through with three huge sighs of relief. Despite these obstacles, Monument Valley was a beautiful park with tall redrock stone structures, bright blue skies, and 80 degree temps. If I had to do it again I would have paid for the tour and saved the wear and tear on the rental car.

We had two more stops which were both quick overlooks. First was Goosenecks State Park in Utah. This was easy to get to and had an amazing view of a tight bend in the San Juan River 1000 feet below the overlook. Not much else to do here as the park is very small. Our last stop, Muley Point was only five miles away as the crow flies but took about 50 minutes to get to. About halfway through the 16 mile drive we neared a massive cliff. Alli and I were trying to decide if the road was going around to the left or right. Neither. Hidden from view was a gravel road that zig-zagged up the cliff. What a drive, tremendous views at every turn. What we didn't know was the last five miles was just as rough as the road at Monument Valley. The washboarding was even deeper and required us to drive about 2 MPH in some places. The view at the end was breathtaking with a nice cool breeze as well. The photo shows Alli straddling a one-foot gap in the rock which funneled the breeze out the top where Alli stated it was quite refreshing on her lady parts. Five miles back on the rough gravel road and then more sighs of relief as we arrived at the pavement. Another 1.5 hours to our hotel in Monticello which was nicer than we expected. Pizza tonight!

Day 3: Mesa Verde National Park

Jessie: The third day of vacation started with a 9am tour of Balcony House. It was a similar set-up to Cliff Palace only way more interactive. To get there we had to climb down many stairs and then up a 32-foot log ladder. It was nerve-racking but totally worth it. After crawling through a couple tight tunnels we arrived at the ancient ruins where we learned about the pueblo people and their day to day lifestyle. We learned that their short lifespan was due to the fact that they were grinding corn on the soft sandstone which added bits of the stone to the cornmeal which ground their teeth down and promoted disease. It was ironic how the one thing that kept the people alive was also killing them.

We also hiked the Soda Canyon overlook trail and enjoyed the beautiful view of Balcony House from across the canyon. Then it was on to Spruce Tree House where we enjoyed walking through the ruins and even going down another wood ladder into one of the ancient kivas - one of the few in the park with a recreated roof. It was very intriguing to see what the structures would have been like 800 years ago. After that we went on the 3-mile loop hike to Petroglyph Point. It was a hard hike out but one that was well worth the effort of venturing off the beaten path. We were surprised to see a large group of senior citizens at the petroglyphs - and joked that hopefully we could be hiking trails like this when we were their age. The hike back was along the ridge line above Spruce Tree House and was a much easier journey. After arriving back at the car, we began the drive out of the park. Lucky for us, we happened upon a family of wild horses, the ones our tour guide from the previous day had mentioned. We only managed to get a couple pictures of the stallion, mare, and newborn foal before noticing a line of cars approaching from behind. Not wanting to follow them on the park's winding roads we continued down the road.

We finished the day by getting a late lunch at Subway which was out of many toppings. Upon leaving we noticed hot pretzels and thought about getting one before the clerk said they were out of those too and that the display pretzels were just plastic. Kind of a funny moment for us after a long day of hiking. We ate our sandwiches back in our hotel room where we could enjoy the refreshing AC and the comfort of our beds.

Day 2: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Alli: The second day of vacation began with a crappy batch of waffles and a 60-mile drive out to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Needless to say the latter was more exciting. The park reminded me of the Badlands of South Dakota in the sense that you drive though the whole state seeing one terrain, and then BAM! Something completely different. In this case it was Colorado's own version of the Grand Canyon - smaller, but no less impressive. We did several short hikes that lead us to breathtaking, if not somewhat nerve-racking overlooks of the sheer 2,300 foot drop into the canyon. For scale that's about two Empire State buildings stacked one on top of the other. It's hard to believe that a simple river, winding through beds of rock can create a landscape so profound and awesome. If only the Kish would create something interesting. My favorite part of the park was Dragon Point: two huge dikes in the massive cliffside that formed the images of dragons. The visitor center had a basket of tiny dragon figurines; of course, we made sure to get one and pose with it in front of the real thing. 

Having made our way through most of the sites on the south rim drive of the Canyon, we programmed our next stop into the GPS: Mesa Verde National Park. However, we didn't make it more than a couple miles out of the park when a HUGE bug hit near Dad's window and fell right next to my seat. I don't know exactly what kind of bug it was. All I know is that it was big and hairy, and I didn't want it anywhere near me. Dad had to pull the car over and throw it out before we went any further because I was not about to ride next to the creepy crawler. Luckily we managed to get rid of it and continue on our way to Mesa Verde.

Dad: I had to pull the car over as Alli was screaming and becoming one with the door. Upon stopping Alli exited the car it what could only be called an hysterical fit. By the way it was some kind of beetle, about a half-inch long.

By the time we arrived at the park and bought our tour tickets, we only had time to visit one of the cave dwellings before the park closed for the night. Hopping back into the car, we raced up the mountain behind a motorcycle pushing 25 mph. Thankfully we made it in time for the last tour of Cliff Palace. This stop was definitely my favorite part of the trip so far. The stone houses were amazing! Even more intriguing in my opinion was the history of the Anasazi people. I enjoyed hearing the tales about the sipapu, the hole in the center of the kivas that acted as a representation of the hole in the earth that the Anasazi people emerged out of. I guess the anthropology classes I've taken at Northern have given me a deeper appreciation for ancient cultures. Who knows? Maybe I'll intern as a park ranger one of these summers!

Dad: I'm all for that.

Day 1: Pikes Peak

Mark: Our day started at 2:15am for an early flight out of Midway Airport. With five stops and about 300 miles of travel this day ranks as one of the most exhausting days of travel we've ever had, and if you've followed our trips you know that's saying something.

We flew into Denver and picked up our rental car with no problems. After a bit of rush hour traffic we stopped at Walmart to stock up on food and sunblock. Our next destination was Rock Park in Castle Rock, CO. Here we had a short one-mile loop hike up and around the rock feature that overlooks the town and surrounding mountains. It was an easy hike to the summit, the perfect way to let the girls think that the hikes would all be easy.

Next we drove about 30 miles to Garden of the Gods State Park. We were there on our 2007 vacation so I wanted to repeat another short hike and get some shots of the girls in the same places we had taken before. Perfect weather, mid 70's with bright blue skies and wispy clouds over the beautiful red rock features. Very crowded but I was able to get the shots I wanted. After nearly backing over an old man who then punched our car, we left the park and made our way to Pikes Peak.

On our way to the Pikes Peak toll road we encountered a small problem. I had marked the summit on our GPS and not the beginning of the toll road. Not knowing the difference, our faithful GPS decided to take us up a different route used for those that wish to hike to the 14,110 foot summit. After about 45 minutes of driving and swearing at the GPS we found our way up the correct road. Funny thing was that as some as we got to the toll road gate the GPS stated that a better route was available. No kidding! The views up to and at the top were worth the effort. The summit had clear views in all directions, a lot of snow, and 36° with brisk winds. Half way down the mountain the rangers stop everyone and gauged the brake temperature. Ours was high so we had to pull over and pop the hood for twenty minutes to let them cool down. On the way up we had noticed a "Sasquach Crossing" sign, so while we were waiting I asked the rangers and a clerk if it was a joke. It wasn't! They all seemed to believe in the elusive beast and everyone I talked to had a story to tell. I should have asked if they have seen any Jackalopes.

Our last stop was Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. We were all tired by this point and I had to talk the girls into doing a couple short hikes. We saw some petrified Sequoia tree stumps which were pretty cool but the rest of the park was kind of a bust. Pretty, but uninteresting as we saw no fossil beds and read some signs about animals that never lived in the area.

Two more hours of driving and then a fast food dinner and America's Got Talent in our hotel room. A fun but long day. The rest of the trip will seem easy by comparison.

Post trip note: It dawned on me when we got home that I had programmed our GPS to avoid toll roads in Denver and forgot to reset the unit. That is why it didn't want to take us up the toll road to the summit of Pikes Peak. Duh!