Mike found us yet another scenic by-way to take and within short order of leaving Capital Reef, we were driving through the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
We have seen tons of rock on this drive so far; and even though it’s only rock, it’s so darned pretty. I’m sure from the pictures being posted that you would agree with this statement.
Next stop along the way was Natural Bridges National Monument. We set up and took the short 13 mile loop through the park to get a closer look at the bridges. Pretty interesting to read how the bridges are formed, mostly by water wearing through the rock to create the bridge. Only problem is, with erosion on-going; these bridges are only temporary. Eventually the water will erode away enough of the support base; and the whole thing will come tumbling down.
We tried out our new airbed on Tuesday night, and it was horrible! Had built-in pillows and the angle was hard on both our necks. Also was one of those double high beds and every time Mike moved, it felt like I was on a bouncy-castle and thought I was going to be tossed off. Found another Walmart in Cortez, Colorado and exchanged it for a new bed. Single high and no annoying pillow. Much better and so far, so good…
Wednesday, we headed to the “four corners”. This is where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah all meet. And at one point, I had one of my limbs in each of the 4 states, at the same time.
Next stop, Mesa Verde, Colorado. This National Park has Pithouses that date back to 600 A.D. and Cliff Dwellings that date back to 1200 A.D. We were here 5 years ago; and were so impressed that we had to see it again.
Stayed at a private campground below the Mesa. Asked if the hot tub worked, and was told yes. Well it turned out the only jet was the one that keeps the water circulating and it was luke warm at best. Also asked if the internet worked, again was told yes, but not at our site as promised and not for the first few hours that we were there.
But it turns out that it was still a good decision to stay there. One it was a lot warmer then it would have been at the NP campground. And it turned out that the NP campground, with no facilities at all wanted $27.00 a night! The private one was around the $22.00 mark. And even though the hot tub was a complete joke, the internet finally worked long enough to do a few things; and make a few phone calls.
On Friday morning, we packed up and this time our destination was Great Sand Dunes, NP in Colorado. What a beautiful place this was; and the campsite that we found, was probably the nicest one that we’ve had so far.
Our site had a great view of the Dunes and only 1 neighbour! Turns out that we were at 8100 foot elevation; and thought for sure we would be in for a long cold night.
We ended up not having a campfire; as it was really windy; so off to bed early we went. Were woken up sometime in the middle of the night by Coyotes howling. Apparently they had a kill; and were celebrating with howls/yips. Guess they wanted the whole campground to know about it.
By this time the wind had completely stopped; and much to our surprise it was warmer than expected. Got up early this morning and New Mexico was our destination. Again found ourselves on a scenic route. About an hour or so into the drive; we were waved down by a man at the side of the road.
Turns out that he was a cowboy; and his herd of 53 Angus cattle were being herded up the highway, heading in our direction. We turned off the car; and had a nice chat with Scott the cowboy. When the herd arrived, Mike got out and took some pictures.
We had only passed a half dozen or so cars on this quite highway, and Scott told us that he only has to stop cars once in a while. He was a bit surprised to find out that we were Canadians, and asked in a kind way if we were “lost”. We chuckled over that one. We’re pretty sure that when he tells the story to his friends, it’ll be something like this… Stopped a car heading East on the 104 and can you believe it… they were from Canada… and they sounded funny! He told us that he had been to Calgary for the Stampede and had met some really nice people… but they sounded funny to him.
We continued on to the State Park campground, but with the temps still reading in the mid 30’s at almost 5pm and hardly a tree in sight, we decided to push on.
We are now in the Northeast corner of New Mexico; about 70 miles from Amarillo, TX. And because of the heat; decided to spend another night at a hotel.
Please click here to look at our pictures.
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