Fall is a great time for taking excursions. The weather is mild and the crowds dwindle as school starts. We drove to Mancos, Colorado and set up base camp at a cute little motel with a family sized room and started exploring Mesa Verde. This is our second family trip there. The last time we went Stephen was a baby and we camped. Brad and I are not quite as adventuresome as the old days. Having a roof and a bed are higher on the list than a decade ago. We went on a guided tour with a ranger late afternoon our first day there. We got up in the morning and drove back to the park. We packed a picnic before we left home so that we could spend as much time in the park as we wanted without having to go in search of food to suit all of the family members with food allergies. We did both the Cliff Palace and Balcony House tours on this trip there and finished with the self guided Spruce tree house cliff dwellings. We met a member of the Zia Pueblo who was demonstrating weaving with yucca fiber. He lives in NM near us and he invited us to visit his pueblo for another field trip when we returned home. We left after the afternoon of the second day and drove home listening to "The Mysterious Benedict Society" on CD and eating popcorn. It was a great trip. We bought an annual park pass so we have a few more places to go this year. We have already visited Zion National Park, Arches and Canyonlands. What a beautiful world we live in!
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| Brad and the kids being silly while waiting for our ranger guided tour. |
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| One of the cliff dwellings we visited was accessed by ladders. One had a
tunnel through the rock we had to crawl through. The ladder was
exciting. Avery says she liked the really tall ladder best. |
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| This is the "really tall" ladder. |
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| Avery climbing into a replica of a kiva. |
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| These are metate found in the cliff dwellings. There was one set up for
kids to try. We don't have a picture of it. Avery ground imaginary
corn on it. |
