8 Days in Cortez, Colorado

So many things to do from our site at Sundance RV Park in Cortez, CO. - Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge RR, Four Corners, Hovenweep NM, Canyon of the Ancients NM, Mesa Verde NP, WalMart, WildEdge Brewing Consortium, The Pie Bakery, we hit them all.

Hovenweep National Monument and Canyon of the Ancients

Our first adventure from the Sundance RV Park in Cortez took us to Hovenweep National Monument in Utah. Crossing state borders becomes second nature as we tour this part of the Southwest.

The Sleeping Ute can be seen from all parts of the mesa

Lowry Pueblo is part of the Hovenweep National Monument. We were able to walk unguided and enter the building and view the remains of the Great Kiva.

After lunch at the Last Chance Saloon in  Pleasant View, Colorado, we were off to the Canyon of the Ancients National Monument where the displays document the lives of the Puebloan people and those who have preserved their lives.

Seen from above proved the theory that the two symbols created in the Great Kiva represent Summer and Winter. 

Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge RR

Durango is 43 miles from Cortez, so we were up pre-dawn (that' really nothing new for us in this time zone) so we would be at the train 15 minutes before departure. We rode the train to Silverton and took the bus back to Durango. Three hours + was definitely enough in a train car built before the invention of air shocks. The glorious scenery grabbed our full attention even overcoming the crying 3 year-old who wanted to get off that train immediately, for 3 hours!

The train follows the Animus River, sometimes at river level and sometimes from great heights as the deep gorge flows way below. We made 2 stops to take on water. The in addition to being used as part of the coal-fired steam process, the water is expelled to dampen the trees and bushes near the track that could ignite with a stray spark!

Silverton reminded us of Dawson, Yukon Territory, paved main street with all others dirt/gravel. It's a funky town where the full-time residents make a living off the tourists but wish they didn't have to!

Silverton has about 250 full-time residents, summer, however, is a time when they are happy to see the last train of the day leave at 3:00PM

The 90 minute bus ride provided comfy seats and some not so comfy views of folks repairing the road we traveled. But the scenery was once again as spectacular as the weather we have been lucky enough to experience as we toured.

Four Corners - Navajo Nation Tribal Park

The 40-mile drive to Four Corners with photo-op and drive back was just the short trip we needed after two whole-day adventures. It also got us back in time to have a roving RV repairman take a look at the refrigerator. (That story requires a blog of it's own, boring and fruitless to boot!)

One part of stills, as we use to call our photos, is that they can't convey the influence of the wind as it blows across the mesa!

In the afternoon, Colleen and I walked to the Cortez, Colorado Welcome Center to purchase tickets for a guided tour of a portion of Mesa Verde NP. After great advice from the Park representative, we chose a tour of Long House at 11:00 the next day. We decided that the four of us couldn't match up to the talents needed to complete a tour of Cliff House.

Mesa Verde National Park

Refreshed and ready for another strenuous day of touristing! Although the entrance to the Park is only 9 miles from the RV, it took a full hour to travel the Park roads to the Long House and Step House trail heads once we entered the Park.

We had planned to tackle the Step House self-guided tour before the ranger-led Long House tour. It was a challenge in many ways, and convinced us that the Cliff House would have been an impossible undertaking. With the 100 ft elevation change and the steepness and narrowness of the path we all were proud of the fact that we made it to Step House and completed the return trip.

Ranger assigned to the Step House

Pit house occupied in 300 A.D.

With time to rest before the Long House tour, a two and a half hour experience, we were ready to tackle the 130 ft elevation change. In reality the Long House tour was easier than the Step House. Both were equally amazing! The ladders were the easy part!

On the return to the trailhead we were lucky enough to see the feral horses that live on the mesa. We even got a glimpse of a recently born foal!

Days of Rest

On Saturday we were hoping for a Farmer's Market visit, but it won't open until June 3rd. However, we did discover The Pie Bakery, a quaint coffee shop, quintessentially representative of Colorado, to complete the morning.  For the afternoon we headed to the WildEdge Brewing Collaborative where we were lucky enough to hear some local musicians.

Sunday was another day of small jobs and shopping at Wally World. After dinner of some great ribs, we made plans to head to Mesa Verde for a Dark Ranger program. It was dark and a ranger gave a talk about the puebloans and what we know about them, but it wasn't a true Dark Ranger program which usually gives information about the night sky and how it influenced ancient peoples and us.

We'll finish off our stay here with a campground sponsored covered dish meal of fried chicken on Monday, Memorial Day! Then heading north on Tuesday.