Today we began Day 2 of our Road Trip by rising early (but not too early) and after a hearty continental breakfast at the hotel we began the 1:15 hr 54.5 mile trip to Mesa Verde National Park. 

After paying our entrance fee  ($15.00 per car) and driving 15 miles up a winding steep road (even by Colorado standards) we reach the visitor center.  A line of people waiting in line for guided tours wrapped around the surprisingly small building.  We decided to forgo the guided tour and head into the center to see what the park had to offer “self-tour” wise.  After talking to a helpful Ranger, picking up a Mesa Verde Jr. Ranger Handbook (FREE), and a few self guide pamphlets (free to borrow, $.50 donation if you choose to keep) we headed back to the car and back onto great adventures within the park.

Our first stop was barley a mile away to a small site called Far View.  The Ranger we talked to back at the visitor center said this is a must see.  Lots of history and rarely visited.  She did not lie.  When we arrived there was only one other family at this site, and they soon left after we arrived.   This site was a large Anasasi Farming community from A.D. 900 to about A.D. 1300 and consists of a small looping trail (about .5 mile I am guessing) in which you get to see the “middle age” of the Mesa Verde park.  We spend over an hour and a half leisurely walking the trail and seeing (now on retrospect) some of the best Mesa Verde has to offer.  Personally, the most interesting item on this trail was Mummy Lake.  A huge man made reservoir made around 900-1100 A.D.  Now dry, I found it interesting that ancient people could make such an elaborate system to hold water.

After we completed the trail back in the car we went and headed down about 5 miles to the “Spruce Tree House”.  This spot is probably what most folks think of when they think of Mesa Verde and consists of a large cliff dwelling established in the late 1200’s. 

We did not head down into the cliff dwellings as we were getting hungry and the Spruce Tree House does have a small cafeteria, so we had to eat.  The food was pretty good, but not great.

After lunch we made a quick stop in the Capin Mesa Museum so the boy could finish some research for the Jr Ranger program.  The museum was an interesting stop, but if it were not for the Jr Ranger program I think we could have skipped it, but I digress.  We located a Park Ranger and Michael was sworn in for a second time in two days as an official Jr Ranger of the National Park Service.

Finally, down the steep trail to the only Self-Guided Cliff dwelling in the park called the Spruce Tree House.   Although interesting I didn’t think it was “all that”.  Most of the dwelling is off limits (understandably) and was just a bit of a let down after having full access to the ruins of Far View.  We spent maybe 20 minutes exploring The Spruce Tree House and headed back up the trail (which was a bit harder than coming down I tell you) to the car.

By now the boy is hot and getting tired so we decide to finish up this portion of the trip by driving the 6 mile Mesa Top Loop.  This loop highlights nearly 1400 years of history showing the Pit Houses built (A.D. 600-900), the pueblos (A.D.  900 –1300) and the cliff dwellings (AD 1190-1270).  This loop is perfect as it is by car with short walking stops along the way to the views or ruins. 

After completing the loop we headed out of the park and headed Southwest to the Four Corners National Monument.  A bit disappointed with this stop as the monument seems to have been transformed into a rickety, cheap flea market for the Navajo Nation, but a stop we made nonetheless.

After a brief walk around the monument we headed off to Farmington, New Mexico to spend the night.  Staying at the clean (if not crowded) Hampton Inn and having dinner at the delicious Spare Rib BBQ Company.

Tomorrow it’s off to Santa Fe to visit my Brother-In-Law Vic.

You can view photos of today’s trip by going here!

Last Friday my son and I sat down at the computer and planned a little Colorado Road Trip/Vacation for this summer.  Little did we know we would actually be taking the trip so soon, but the wife got some time off from work so here we are.  As I do on every little trip we do I’ll try to blog our experiences as we go along.

DAY #1 – Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.

Originally planning to hit the road this morning at 7:00 am we got off on a bit late start leaving about 7:30 and begun the 178 mile, 3 hr trip to The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. It took a bit longer than planned as we had to stop for breakfast and money at an ATM, but we actually arrived only about an hour after we planned.

After we paid our 6 dollar entrance fee we headed to the visitor center to see what there was to be seen.   Michael decided to sign up for the Junior Ranger program (.50 donation) so the first item we had to do was watch a short 10 minute video about the park.  The we walked a short hike around one of the loops (I forget the name) as Michael worked on his Jr. Ranger handbook.  It was a bit chilly and we were regretting wearing shorts.

After about an hour at the visitor center we headed down to the dune to do a little exploring.  Our greatest surprise was the Medano Creek was still flowing (a small creek that flows around the dunes caused by melting snow).   Although the creek is running low this time of year we still had to cross it to get to the dunes.  So off came the shoes and through the water we went.  The creek is only one or two inches deep and was only about 15 feet across, but the water was freezing.  I was shocked to see so many kids swimming in the water having a great time.

By this time the temps had started to climb and it was reaching about 80 degrees.  Still not too bad for exploring.  However the wind had really started to blow at about 30 MPH.   At this wind speed the dunes had become a sand blaster and it actually hurt to walk.  Sand was hitting us everywhere like small tiny bullets.  When a gust would come up it hurt like hell, and blew in our eyes blinding us…. but of course, the boy wanted to go on.  He climbed a dune and then rolled down a dune… Up, down, up, down having a ball if not filling his teeth and everything else with blowing sand.  I am guessing we spent only a half hour on the dunes before mom and dad said enough was enough and we headed down the dunes and back to the car.

We the sprayed off most off the sand at some showers at the bottom of the dunes, we couldn’t get totally clean as these showers are outdoors and you have to stay dressed but we got most off it off Michaels face, legs, and feet.  Then back to the visitors center for Michael’s swearing in as an official Junior Park Ranger.  He was pretty proud of himself and was presented a patch for his accomplishment.

We headed out of the park to head further west on our adventure.

We traveled slightly south into Alamosa, Co for a late lunch it was already 2:00 PM, and other than a few snacks we hadn’t eaten since breakfast.  We looked for a local “joint” to eat at but we must have been in the wrong part of town because we couldn’t find anything.  We settled on a Long John Silvers/Taco Bell Hybrid and continued on.

The next leg of the drive was just getting to Durango where we planned on staying the night.  The 176 mile 3.5 hr drive was long but very scenic.

The night was uneventful with a dinner at the Carver Brewing Company and a soak in the pool at the Best Western Durango Inn & Suites were we spent the night.  Food was good, the hotel was clean, and we even saw a deer muching away at some grass while the boy swam.  All and all a great trip so far.

Lots of photos HERE

Tomorrow: Off to Mesa Verde.

Well I am just going to post the rest of the Vegas photos here to try and get caught up.  I had planned to give a nice long narrative on each day, but I just have not had time to update everything, and I don’t think anyone really reads this thing anyway.

Welcome back to the Thuis Blog Time Machine. Today we go back nearly 2 weeks to Monday, March 24, 2008.  Back to our trip to Las Vegas.

As you remember we spent last night in Grand Junction, Colorado.  Today it’s early to rise as we start the 508 mile (or so) second leg of the road trip.  We hope to make Las Vegas before dinner time, so after an overpriced breakfast buffet at the hotel (the only thing I didn’t like about the hotel), we are off.

The beginning of our drive is through Utah.  I tell you what, nothing is more desolate than the first couple hundred mile of this drive.  I don’t ever remember seeing signs saying, "Get your gas now! 120 miles until next services.", but we see them now.  The scenery is enough to keep us entertained.  The drive is beautiful, and we stop a few times to take in the breathtaking views.

We stop in a town called Richfield and have lunch at a restaurant called Wingers.  The appearance of this place is deceiving.  Outside this looks like a fast food place, but inside we find a full restaurant.  The food was GREAT. I had a steak sandwich, that was delicious even though it would make a cardiologist stand up and take notice.

Back on the road we don’t stop until we hit the Nevada border. After a quick stop in Mesquite, Nevada we finally arrive in Las Vegas around 4:00 PM. For the duration of this trip we will be staying at the Embassy Suites Convention Center Las Vegas.  This is a very nice hotel.  Probably tiny by Las Vegas standards, but big enough for us.  NO casino but this is where the wife’s class is being held so we couldn’t this of any better place.

After getting cleaned up a bit and changing clothes (it is now in the upper 70’s and we showed up in blue jeans and sweat shirts), we decide to hit the town.  So after a short break at the hotel bar for FREE drinks and snacks, we head on out.

For the first night we decide to go and see the fountains at the Bellagio and then find some place for dinner.  We decide that we will take the monorail downtown, but the desk clerk convinces us to drive, park at Caesar’s Palace, and walk "next door" to see the show.  Well the drive was not as bad as anticipated, but parking at Caesar’s was a huge mistake.  I am pretty sure we got "lost" once we entered the Casino, because it took us forever to find a way to get out of Caesar’s and get "outside" to get to the Bellagio.  Though at the time we didn’t really care and tried to consider it an adventure.  Finally, finding our way to the fountains we watched the show.  This really is a "must do" when visiting Vegas because the show is great and best of all it’s free.

The show is finally over and it’s about 8:00 PM and we decide we really need to get some dinner (mistake #2).  But where to go and how the heck do we get back to the car?  After "getting lost" again in Caesar’s getting back to the car, we decide to find someplace to eat in the hotel.  Anyway, long story short, after searching around and some "heated" discussion, we end up getting some overpriced, crummy pizza slices and eat it in the car.

Back to the hotel.  The boy wants to hit the pool, and you’ll hear no complaints from me.  After the drive and all the initial walking I want to hit the Hot Tub.  Upon entering the hotel we find out that the hotel is changing their boiler tonight so no water tonight after 11:00 PM until 5:00 am.  No big deal we’ll be sleeping.  We change, hit the pool for about an hour.  Get cleaned up, fill the fridge with some drinking water and head off to bed.

Flashback one week to March 23 (Easter Sunday) and we are off to Vegas for a little trip.  "The boy" is on spring break and "The Wife" has a class in Vegas, so we decided to tag along for a little impromptu vacation.  We are driving as it is still a lot cheaper then flying even with the high gas prices.

Anyway, back to the trip.   After a nice visit from the Easter bunny, we started on the road for the first leg of our two day drive.  Today, we are going about 310 miles to Grand Junction, Colorado.  We are taking along a tag along rider.  We will be picking up our nephew Nick in Golden and taking him back to college in Grand Junction. 

First leg of the trip is pretty uneventful until we get to Golden.  We are supposed to meet Nick at a convenience store near the Highway that we just could not find.  After a rousing game of cell phone tag we finally meet at a strip mall that we both could find.

Once we finally found Nick we decided we were getting pretty hungry as it was getting around lunch time, so we stopped at one of the few restaurants we could find open called Tokyo Joe’s.  A little Japanese style restaurant that was actually really good.  Then back on the road as we head West towards Grand Junction and locations beyond.

We decide to stop at a little rest stop just outside Glenwood Springs and stretch our legs a bit. The pictures below are from that stop.  Then off we go again.

After a few more hours on the road we finally get to Grand Junction.  We get a nice tour of the dorms at Mesa State College and the it’s off to dinner.  A lot of discussion here on where to spend Easter dinner, but, unfortunately, Nick doesn’t know where to go because he usually eats at the school.  After a short, grumpy, hungry drive we finally find a restaurant open.  It is a Golden Corral, and even though this is not quite the fancy Easter Dinner Julie wants, we decide to stop and try it out anyway as it is one of Nick’s "favorite" restaurants.  I thought the meal was pretty good, even if it wasn’t a traditional Easter dinner.

After dinner, it’s off to the local Wal-Mart to buy some college supplies, and then we drop Nick back off at his dorm room.  Even though it is still pretty early, Nick has a paper still to finish before morning.

Off to the hotel, tonight it is The Courtyard by Marriott Grand Junction.  This is a very nice hotel.  Brand new by the appearance and sparkling clean.  "The boy" is ecstatic because they have a small indoor pool, and this is where we spend the rest of the night until we get some sleep for the rest of the trip tomorrow.