Goodbye Colorado, Hello Arizona

  Prescott, Arizona, United States
Sunday, September 2, 2007

Left the rest of the rafters in Colorado today, headed south with the intention of spending some time at Jerrys brother Joels house.  After leaving Gunnison, we passed through Ourey, and got on the Million Dollar Highway.  And wow!  It was a beautiful drive!  The highway runs from Ourey to Silverton and then on to Durango.  There are waterfalls, old mining sites, and a golden stream that flows along the road.  Not actual gold, but the water was

Silverton

colored gold from runoff.  At one point, a stream ran under the road and then became a waterfall on the other side.  It was pretty cool.  We were both feeling out of it for most of the day.  I think it was a combination of having spent a few days on a river, and the McDonalds that we picked up for lunch.  I finally perked up once we got close to Durango.  Originally, we'd thought we might just push on the whole day to Prescott, Arizona, but we were too beat, and it seemed like a shame to pass up Mesa Verde.

Spruce Tree Lodge, Mesa Verde

Mesa Verde National Park is the site of several Anasazi cliff dwellings.  They're remarkably well preserved, and you've probably seen pictures of them.  When we arrived, it was already getting dark, so we were only able to set up camp and eat before the sun went down.  However, they did have an excellent shower facility, so after we ate, I headed over there and spent a good $2 worth of quarters on a long, hot shower.  Then had some beers and called it a night.

The next morning, we woke to find several deer wandering through our campsite.  When Jerry tried to move and get his camera however, they bolted.  After packing up, we were off to find the ruins.  In the little museum they have, we learned that the main ruins required joining a tour group.  Unfortunately, the wait list was getting full, and we couldnt get on it til the afternoon.  Since we planned on getting to Prescott that evening, we decided to take a self-guided tour of a smaller dwelling, the Spruce Tree Lodge Ruins.  I actually prefer going off on my own to getting with a tour, so it didnt bother me.  Before we saw the ruins, we took a hike around the canyon and saw some petroglyphs carved into the walls.  The trail was winding and had several climbs and dips.  Eventually, it led us back to the dwelling.  Here we were able to walk into several structures, and really get close to the ruins.  

Monument Valley

After leaving Mesa Verde, we drove south and west, eventually crossing the southeast corner of Utah.  Here we had the chance to drive through Monument Valley.  Its an amazing area full of wind eroded rock formations.  The rock and soil is all red, which really makes everything look cool.  

Mexican Hat Monument

We soon passed through Flagstaff, and stopped for a meal and a few beers at Maloneys.  It was the same as the Maloneys I used to frequent in Albuquerque.  I never even realized it was a chain.  College football season had just kicked off, and we were able to learn that Purdue had won, Notre Dame had lost, and in the biggest shocker of all, MICHIGAN lost to 1-AA Appalachian State!  HAHAHAHAHA!   Thats awesome!  From here it was a short trip on to Joels, and a couch instead of a sleeping bag.