Best of Both Worlds

Tonight I’m writing from the big fluffy bed I’d dreamed of…and I’m as close to out-of-doors and someone in a big fluffy bed can get.

But back to last night…after closing up the laptop I climbed the giant rock behind the tent to read and watch the sunset. There is nothing like a sunset in the red rocks desert. First you look East as the sunlight slides up the red rocks, that special evening color firing each and every stone. Then, when the sun sets, there is a brief intermission before the colors in the Western Sky begin. As red and fiery as the rocks were but softer. And then the stars come out, and when you’re in the middle of nowhere, the stars are right there above you. The Milky Way was so clear, and there were just millions of stars.

Morning came bright and clear and I packed up as soon as it was light. Something told me if I didn’t leave then, I might not ever go. So up the Canyon, then over the mountain I went. There were lots of mule deer, hundreds of wild turkeys and lots of cows. The Aspen had just changed and patches of the mountain were brilliant. Back down in the desert I headed East for the first time in a week.

Hovenweep is an early Pueblo settlement of stone houses set within, and on the rim of a small canyon. There is a short 2 mile hike around it that makes for a nice walk, and gives you just enough time to wonder who lived there and what it would have been like. I think the guy who designed Arco Santi just went too far. His ideas are just like those of there early Pueblo builders, but he just wants too much more, Hovenweep is all you need. A few structures built into the side of the canyon, with a tower or two on the rim.

Next I went to see the world’s largest ball of twine. Oh, no, I mean the 4 Corners. Located on Ute Reservation land the spot where Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico meet is accessible only after paying a $3.00/person fee and fighting your way through Native American Craft stalls. I got a picture though.

Further East I drove by Shiprock, NM. The rock is very cool, the town sad, the fact that there is one more state on my list…awesome.

And then I returned to Colorado on the way to Mesa Verde and began to start thinking of finding a place to spend the night. As faithful readers will have noted…I was in need of a shower and a bed. Driving through Cortez, looking at the strip hotels was not thrilling. I’d spent the night before out under the Milky Way, would I now have to sleep beside a flashing neon light? Stopping at the Visitor Center I inquired about ‘quiet’ places to stay and the helpful lady there informed me that there was a hotel at Mesa Verde. It was primitive she warned…no tv. I asked if they had electricity and showers. Which she must have thought was a joke question – but she has no idea how primitive its been. I then hopped in the car, sped East to the Park and then drove some more. Hey! Is this some kind of conspiracy? Mesa Verde is on top of a mountain. Well yes, that is what Mesa means but its 2000 feet up. So was the hotel where I happily booked a room!

Then off down the road some more to take the 5:00 tour of Clift Palace. The pueblo ruin you associate with Mesa Verde. And it is cool, but it is only one of over 300 in the park. Tomorrow I’m going to check out some of the others and do some hiking. Now. After a great dinner at the restaurant here, a nice talk with a newlywed couple from Philadelphia (he’s a tattoo artist, she’s a professional photographer), and a loooong shower I’m going to go to sleep in bed that is in a room in the middle of a National Park!