Pueblo - Navajo

Our last day in Colorado. We will end with something we haven't done before: a visit to Mesa Verde National Park. It is one of the first culturally-based parks in the country, as well as being recognized as a World Heritage Cultural site. It's unique. Interesting.

Like the Rocky Mountain National Park, our late winter visit meant some of the roads and park sites were closed. We were still able to see the most famous of the cliff dwellings from the overlooks. We still drove 23 miles up the steep mountain curves to the mesa (Mesa Verde means green table). Yup, we were to the top of that mesa in the lower right picture. 23 miles to get there (and back down again). It took a couple hours and, yes, it was quite chilly in the wind and at that elevation.

We crossed from Colorado into the northwest corner of New Mexico on our way to the Four Corners. It's been over 20 years since we were here before. The facilities have changed with more tourist amenities. It is certainly easier to photograph yourself in all four states now. It is still a quick visit. This area is not under the management of the National Park Service. It is managed by the Navajo Tribe, as are several other sites in the Four Corner region. No national parks pass here nor cash. Credit cards only.

From Four Corners, we went north into Utah. Why? Well, mainly because we wanted to approach our final stop of the day, Monument Valley, from the north side. We have visited a couple times before approaching from the south. There's a view from the north that we wanted to capture. More later.

Another reason is the name of a town on the map was intriguing: Mexican Hat, Utah. Why would a town has a name like Mexican Hat? Well, we found out. About two miles north of town is the namesake. There is a large rock that looks like a Mexican Hat.

The final quirky reason for the northern detour was the ability to say we best-ed ourselves. Last week we had breakfast in Nebraska, lunch in Wyoming and dinner in Colorado. Well today we had breakfast in Colorado, a snack in New Mexico, lunch in Utah and dinner in Arizona. OK, we're weird, but it was fun.

The final tourist stop of the day was Monument Valley. It was SO windy, that the red soil blew across the roadway like pink clouds, at times so thick visibility was near zero. Fortunately, those squalls didn't last long.  We took the drive through the entire Valley. I remember it being a rough, bumpy dirt/gravel road, but this was pretty extreme in places. In fact, one point on the way out, I wondered if Betsy would make it up as her tires spun a bit. She made it.

The monuments in the Valley are spectacular. The view we wanted, we received. As you come over a ridge, it appears magically. And now, there's even a sign, "Forest Gump Hill ahead." Yup. We are not visiting at a popular tourist time, yet there were multiple cars stopped at the pull-outs along the road. People were standing in the roadway, mimicking Forest running on the road. 

Now if I can properly recall the names of the monuments I photoed, starting top left, clockwise: Three Sisters, Spearhead Mesa, The Thumb, and Navajo Codetalkers. Right is the iconic Forest Gump Hill and bottom: the West and East Mittens with Merrick Butte.

It was a great day but I am sure there is red sand all over my face and in my hair. Everything feels gritty. If there has been one constant on this trip, it is the wind. Tomorrow is our final day. Will the wind continue? Will we make it home without any last minute hiccup (like car trouble we had last year)?