Among The Cliffs ~ To The Corners

Silverton and Ouray tomorrow! I promise!

Day 3 we went south to Mesa Verde and Four Corners.

Arriving toward the entrance of Mesa Verde National Park, my stomach began to do some uncontrollable dancing. 

"We will be clear up there?" Examining the heights from down below were very intimidating!

The road was extremely narrow, the edge too near, the drop so far! I held my breath much of the way. Squeals and screeches kept escaping my craw! I was terrified!!!! I clung to the hand rest on the passenger side as if holding on would help if we happened to slip over the edge. As our ride took us to higher elevations, the air became thin, and my head became fuzzy. 

This was adventure! 

Once we arrived at the visitors center we explored the museum and learned much about Mesa Verde. From there we chose the path we wanted to explore and headed out to find the remains of the Cliff Dwellers.

My head felt like it was full of helium the whole time! And my stomach refused to take a break from it's fancy footwork!

Have you read Tamera Alexander's brilliant works of fiction? She speaks of Mesa Verde in her amazing novel "From A Distance". This is the kind of fiction you do not want to miss! Check out more about Tamera and her award winning books at Write Perspectives .

We marveled at the cliff dwellers, men,women, families, who carved homes in the mountains. It was fascinating to learn their survival methods, and witness the remains of their handiwork. 

We wound our way through the park, choosing trails that looked the most interesting. 

Hungry for lunch, we stopped at the restaurant perched on one of the peaks. Windows line the walls of the restaurant presenting a most spectacular view. 

 Scotty had read about Navajo Tacos which happened to be the specialty there so that was what we had for lunch. Very different, very good! Warning! Little dabs of green stuff can be VERY hot!!!!

Breathing was easier for me on the downward spiral. There is nothing like a view from the heights! It was exhilarating!!!! It seemed like we could see all the way home! 

Travel time was short and very soon we were arriving at our next destination point, Four Corners. This point of interest is where four states: Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado join and you can stand in all four states at one time. It is run by the Navajo Indians and it was a fun place to stop. 

The Navajos have little booths all around the site where they sell various trinkets and treasures. My favorite, of course, was the jewelry. I am still regretting not buying a beautiful turquoise bracelet. It was amazing and probably worth a ton! I was on the search for a gift for my mom and finally settled on a pair of beautiful earrings for her. (She loved them, btw)

Jewelry was cheap here. Scotty told me that I really, really messed up because I could have bought a lot more and given it away as gifts. Of course he waited to say this the next day or so when we were miles beyond the opportunity! Oh, well! I only wish I knew when he was going to think like this!

I bought two necklaces at $5 each! I wore one of them most of the way home. It is beautiful!  

I bought a sno-cone as we were leaving and we headed on our way east to drive through New Mexico for a ways. I had never been in that state and I found it intriguing.

We reentered the town of Durango just in time for dinner. One of the locals told us about another Mexican restaurant that we should try. We couldn't resist! It took us awhile to recover from having Mexican food three times in 24 hours. I do not recommend it!  

After dinner we just hung out, perusing the town. There was a bit of a chill kneading the evening air making us long for our jackets.  

Our time in Durango was coming to an end. A bit of sorrow, at the thought, crept over me. I really liked this little town. Would I ever be able to return? I would love to hang out a bit longer and learn more about it. 

Soon we were nestled in our cozy bed at the Comfort Inn. 

My eyes refused to close. I kept feeling like I wanted to linger in this quaint little town a while longer. My thoughts refused to be quiet so sleep could settle in. Finally I had the answer. I would ask Scotty to drive me through town come morning. We could stop at Starbucks for a latte and wander a bit through the streets before moving on. I could not leave this place without saying farewell. 

Tomorrow Silverton and Ouray! I promise!!!!

Cheri