Travel & Tourism

Goosenecks and “Otherworldly” Vistas

April 9, 2009 by Shelli

We departed Four Corners and headed toward southeastern Utah. Our next destination was a place called Goosenecks State Park.

I had seen images of the area while researching content for the new sites we’re developing that promote Zion National Park, and Grand Canyon National Park. It wasn’t far out of the way and would link Four Corners and Monument Valley for us before we’d head toward our main destination, the Grand Canyon.

After winding through some desolate but interesting country, we came to the end of the road, where an overlook was situated along with a couple of picnic tables and some short railings.

We parked and headed to see why the road ended so abruptly. The sight was stunning. There in front of us the San Juan River carves its way around two big interesting “knobs”. It is a striking sight because it’s so unusual and it’s all natural. We enjoyed it all to ourselves as we had a picnic at the table overlooking it.

Here are a couple of video clips. The first is the typical roadtrip video… kids bored in back seat, driver chewing sunflower seeds, good music and “open road” in all directions. The second shows the spectacular Goosenecks formation.

Next up was Monument Valley. We wanted to see what all the fuss is about. Monument Valley has been described as one of the most unique scenic drives in all of America. It’s often referred to as “otherworldly.”

It was recommended we drive it southbound to see the iconic, famous view of the scenic drive en route to Kayenta, UT. This made sense for us given we were coming from Goosenecks State Park and headed to the Grand Canyon.

Together but in 4 (5) different states

April 8, 2009 by Shelli

Hahaha. This is a good one: Our family found out what it was like to be together but in 4 different states. In fact, my husband, Jerry, and I decided that if Delirious counts as a state, which we think it does, we stood in 5 states at one time. It was very cool.

This really happened as we descended on Four Corners on April 6 during our recent Spring Break road trip adventure.

Standing together but in 4 different states

After touring Mesa Verde National Park, we traveled through Cortez, CO, to experience Four Corners, the monument that marks the point at which four states come together: New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Utah.

It was sort of a hoky experience, but well worth it. We were glad we included it on our itinerary. You pay $3 per person to enter tribal land and then take turns waiting to stand briefly in all four states. Fortunately we arrived early in the morning and early in the tourist season and only had to wait about five minutes before a friendly bystander offered to take our photograph.

Losing Books, our Minds … and Time

April 6, 2009 by Shelli

Day 3 of our Spring Break vacation found us on a road trip.

It started with a laugh. My husband, Jerry, turned 46 on April 6. So we prepared breakfast in bed for him like a good family should and then he opened a small batch of gifts we had packed for the occasion. Among the gifts he received was a book from me called Younger Next Year. It’s well known for its wisdom and use of humor to enlighten about how men can “grow old gracefully,” and uh, even improve their memory as they age.

Here, Jerry holds the book for the first/last time.

Well too bad he didn’t read it before we left.

Jerry had set it on the roof of our car outside the yurt in Mancos State Park for a staged family photo. 10 miles later I asked for the book figuring I’d read some excerpts out loud for both of our benefits as we motored down what would be a long and open road that day.

It was then Jerry said some cuss words and lamented the fact he forgot he had set it on top of the car. At the same time we passed a Neighborhood Watch photo that featured a bandit on it. The boys started talking about how it was probably a bandit that stole the book.

After a few minutes of Jerry racking his brain and looking throughout the car, and around the car, we decided to back-track on a bit of a treasure hunt. Wolf, our 9-year-old, said, “This can be our geocaching adventure we talked about.”

And besides, so what, we weren’t in a hurry… we were on vacation, right?

We backtracked and got out looking in the weeds, and returned all the way to our yurt site, but to no avail. All we can hope is that someone â€“â€“ other than Jerry â€“- will age gracefully as a result of my gift.

After lots of extra driving on what was already going to be a drive day, we turned our thoughts toward Four Corners.

As you can see from this video, the boys were less than thrilled to learn we’d be spending the bulk of another day motoring down the road.

Over Mountains to Mesa Verde National Park

April 6, 2009 by Shelli

On Day 2 of our Spring Break vacation, after driving through a blizzard, we headed south. We had hoped to travel from Ridgway State Park south over the “Million Dollar Highway” to Durango. My husband, Jerry, had been researching (freaking out about) the scenic drive for weeks if not months leading up to our trip. I so wanted to travel that stretch. I’ve heard how exposed it is and as a result, what a scenic road it is. Jerry had a little anxiety trouble when we traveled Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park a year ago so he was a little concerned about how it would go.

Lucky for him, the weather didn’t cooperate. The sign at the start of the route flashed “Caution Ahead” and advised no unnecessary travel. Well, damn, I thought. But it wasn’t worth risking our lives, and what the heck, Jerry’s birthday was the next day and he had deserved an alternative route.

With that, we took an alternative route that took us near Telluride and over the 10,222-foot-high Lizard Head Pass, which is beautiful drive in its own right.
Here’s a glimpse into the great views along that scenic stretch of road:

Soonafter, we arrived to warmer temps in Mesa Verde National Park, in southwestern Colorado.

About 1,400 years ago, long before Europeans explored North America, a group of people living in the Four Corners region chose Mesa Verde for their home. For more than 700 years they and their descendants lived and flourished here, eventually building elaborate stone communities in the sheltered alcoves of the canyon walls. It’s an amazing place.

Mesa Verde, which means green table in Spanish, became a national park in 1906 to preserve the archeological heritage of the Ancestral Puebloans, both atop the mesas and in the cliff dwellings below.

The sites in Mesa Verde are some of the most notable and best preserved in the United States.

Once in the national park, we drove 15 miles to the Far View Visitor Center where we purchased tickets for the Ranger-led tour of Cliff Palace. ($3 each, and the only close-up view of Cliff Palace requires the Ranger’s presence)

Cliff Palace is Mesa Verde’s largest cliff dwelling. It has 150 rooms, plus an additional 75 open areas. Twenty-one of the rooms are kivas, and 25 to 30 rooms have residential features. The number of Ancestral Puebloans living in Cliff Palace at any one time was 100 to 120.

Our sons, ages 9, 7 and 2, loved the tour. When we asked what their favorite part of Cliff Palace was it was learning about the human remains that were found there, and also getting in and out of the cliff dwelling.

Climbing ladders to get out of Cliff Palace

To get there you descend sharply in tight and narrow passages between rocks. To leave you climb several ladders. It was a great adventure and a cultural experience.

Here’s a short video clip to give you a taste of the tour:

(Mesa Verde includes over 4,500 archeological sites, 600 of which are cliff dwellings.)

A Snowy Spring Break

April 5, 2009 by Shelli

Well, our grand plans for a “Spring” Spring Break vacation were dampened right from the start.

Our family’s plan was to go on a major road trip and camping adventure that would take us through 6 states in 7 days. Most of that would be in warmer, desert climes. Our destination was Grand Canyon, but this was a trip where truly the journey would be the trip.

But boy, was it ever not shaping up that way. It was looking like we may not even get on the road.

We barely got out of dodge (Lander, WY) on Friday late afternoon after Jerry, a teacher, and our boys got out of school. We left in a blizzard in hopes of covering at least half of our original Day 1 miles so that we might just make it to the yurt in Ridgway State Park on April 3, which would mark the official start of our adventure.

It took us 7 hours to travel 250 miles but finally we made it safe and sound to Craig, Colorado. Finally! Our ears were ringing with Are we there yet??

Needless to say we were all at wits end by the time we got there. It had been white knuckle winter driving conditions for Jerry, and we survived largely thanks to Apple (iPods) and a bottle. (No, not that kind of bottle, although it would have come in handy. : > I’m referring to a bottle of milk for our 2-year-old)

Arriving at the Best Western Deer Park Inn hit the spot. It’s a nice, clean hotel with a pool and free wireless. You can tell the owners take a lot of pride. Management was out helping people clear the snow off their cars in the morning.

We arose and traveled south to Ridgway State Park located about 28 miles south of Montrose, CO, where our first “yurt” experience awaited us.

It was awesome! Nestled in some pine trees and covered in snow was our warm, cozy and very affordable retreat from the winter conditions.

Inside was a gas stove, bunk beds and two king fold-out futon-type beds, a table and chairs, microwave and refrigerator. In addition, outside was our own picnic table, bench, fire pit and grill.

The boys had fun playing games and on the bunk beds, while Jerry cooked dinner outside in the falling snow and I curled up by the stove to start some leisure reading on the Kindle. (Pillars of the Earth, a 960-page treasure I was hoping to put a good dent in on the trip)

Night came and we all slept like babies as winter put a hush on our surroundings. We woke up to about 6 inches of fresh snow and headed south.

Here’s a clip of what the yurt looked like:

Next up: Mesa Verde National Park.