Tomahawk Lodge Cortez

... climb miles of switchback roads to get to the visitor's centre, and then there are miles of sites and lookouts to tour from there. It was a lovely sunny day, and the views coming into the park were amazing. We had to restrain ourselves from gasping in awe every time we turned the corner around another U turn, trying our best not to tempt David to take his eyes off the road, which was not only very winding, but had very steep drops. We all agreed that the ...

DAY 24, Saturday - Aztec, NM and to Colorado - Today was mostly a traveling day with lunch outside of Chaco National Monument, a major early Pueblo civilization. Canyon Towhees were grazing nearby. We had a pleasant surprise when we stopped at the Aztec Ruins National Monument (misnamed Aztec, really Ancestral Puebloan). The ruins were amazing and close to the Visitor Center with an informative movie explaining the Ancestral Puebloan's beliefs as ...

... We don't have to survive off the land like the native peoples did, but the very intimate life-giving connection they shared with the earth has something to teach us about being human & living in harmony with creation.                 Signing off with a Navajo blessing said when saying good bye to someone:   Ho xhonigo-nashi   which means   Go in Beauty

... way home. I'm so glad we did! The drive through McElmo Canyon was amazing. There are many unique and interesting homes, farms, and vineyards along the road, and the scenery is incredible. The canyon lies directly below the Sleeping Ute Mountain. It's filled with green farm land that leads right up to red canyon walls. The combination of the two was a strange and beautiful sight.          When we got to Hovenweep, I was so glad to see we had the ...

... doit être des traces de meules, des empreintes de mains peintes sur la roche et bien sûr les fameux petroglyphes! Je jubile... la vie est parfaite!!!! Je finis par descendre de mon perchoir encore toute émoustillée de ma découverte et repart en direction du prochain monument! Mais pas encore les Ponts... cette petite route s'ouvrait ensuite sur un immense plaateau et tout au fond, vers l'horizon, je distinguais les silhouettes des fameux rochers de Monument Valley ...

... rims and the talus slopes. Most settlements were near a water source like a seep spring. The Ancestral Puebloans farmed for a living. We hike a two mile loop at Square Tower Complex and were able to see the ruins of many structures. Some of the structures we could get very close to, and others were always at a distance. I enjoyed taking pictures nonetheless. No one knows exactly why the Ancestral Puebloans moved ...

... room. We pulled into the RV park in the nearby town of Cortez, got set up, and then set out for Mesa Verde to get tickets to see the ancestral pueblo cliff dwellings. Mesa Verde was home for a Native American Pueblo Indian culture from about 500 AD to 1200 AD. Then, in the course of only a few generations, they all left, abandoning their homes and dispersing to the pueblos that are still left today. There are many theories about the cause of ...

Wow. I made it to Colorado, somewhere I really always dreamed of seeing. Well. OK. so I've only seen 40 miles so far but tomorrow will start the real tour of this state. After leaving the Grand Canyon, my goal was to reach the Four Corners before sunset. I made it by a half hour. The drive took me through some very scenic roads on Navajo land. I went through the Painted Desert which looks like someone had one of those sand art things and just poured layers of different ...

... quarters and kivas at Balcony House. However, the vistas were even more inspiring than they were at the other dwellings. <br><br>After our tour, we climbed another ladder to get back to the car. We then took a drive around the park to see the other ruins which are not accessible through a tour. I was very struck by the number of dwellings that populated the mesa&#8217;s cliffs. It was easy to make out various buildings in several alcoves throughout the ...

... made up for us by Lonely Planet, which only listed Cortez hotels in its Southwest guide. We decided to call the Arrow Motor Inn and see if they had a room. When we called, we found out that the Arrow Motor Inn was now a Travelodge. Given our time constraints, we took the room. It turned out to be clean and comfortable, but certainly not in the caliber of the rooms in which we&#8217;d been staying the previous three nights.<br><br>We unpacked our luggage and turned on the ...