Mesa Verde National Park, CO

From about 550 to 1300 A.D. ancestral Puebloans inhabited southwest Colorado in an area that is now designated as a National Park and sacred ground called Mesa Verde. Mesa Verde is Spanish for “green table” though it is more geologically accurate to call it a mesa cuesta because it is flat but it also slants to one direction. The Puebloans constructed mesa top homes at first and eventually evolved to build elaborate stone communities in the sheltered alcoves of the canyon walls. The story of this generation is really interesting. These people had many skills; they were architects and builders, hunters, farmers, tool makers, traders, basket weavers and pottery makers. They domesticated wild turkeys and dogs and they cherished family and religious values. Then, just like that, they up and left everything behind for reasons that are still unknown today. Archeologist believe that Puebloans may have actually been their own worst enemy. With a population of around 5,000, they may have exhausted their resources; woodlands were cut, wild game hunted out and soils depleted. Years of severe drought and poor crops may have sent these people to look elsewhere in the four corners region to live. 

On our way over from the Great Sand Dunes, Brian and I spent a couple nights in Durango, CO to re-group from no power, no water and cold weather. The campground at Mesa Verde wasn't open yet so we camped just outside the park. Only a portion of the park was open, it is still early in the season. Brian and I spent one day in the park and did the one tour that was available, the Balcony House, a 40 room cliff dwelling. The ranger led us on a one hour exploration which entailed climbing a 32' ladder, crawling through a tight tunnel and then out on a open rock face with more ladders. The view was spectacular and looking across the canyon you can see other dwellings. These people had their own neighborhood in the walls of the canyon. It is hard to not imagine what it must of been like back then. We also visited the Spruce Tree house, which is a self-guided visit and other pull-offs along the way.

We spent another night at the RV park and the next day took a drive over to the 4 corners. In the middle of the desert, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona state lines meet. For a moment, we each stood in 4 different states at once.

Spruce Tree House:

Balcony House:

Our fearless ranger

Four Corners:

A nice kid who makes his own arrows, Brian bought one for a souvenir

Next Stop: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, CO

Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

Where man himself is a visitor who does not remain - 1964 Wilderness Act

The dunes of The Great Sand Dunes National Park were great indeed. Between the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the San Luis Valley, sit North America's largest piles of sand. How the dunes were formed exactly is still being researched by geologists, hydrologists and other interested scientists. The Park Service has some great animated videos on their website to show the formation of the San Luis Valley and Great Sand Dunes as well as the pulsating flow of the Medano Creek. Surges of water seem to come from nowhere in the river. This rare phenomenon needs three elements to make it flow; a steep grade, smooth creek bed and sufficient water. The Medano Creek runs over sand and creates sand dams or "anti-dunes" that trap water. When the pressure gets too great, the dam breaks and sends down a wave about every 20 seconds. Spring and early summer is wave season at the dunes. 

Speaking of spring, it is a rather rugged time of year to be camping in this high desert terrain. Spring can bring high winds in the afternoon and can swing temperature highs from the 60s to the 30s and lows down to 0 degrees F. March and April are the snowiest months of the year. We witnessed all kinds of this crazy weather first hand. The whole state of Colorado got swept up into a cold snap. The day Brian and I picked to hike to high dune, the winds were raging, snow was flying horizontally and the temperature with wind chill was in the freezing range. We didn't pick the best day but it was our last day so we geared up and went out anyway. Hiking in the sand is tough as it is but 40-50 mph wind gusts and whipping sand and snow flakes made it one of our most challenging and least fun hikes yet. Thank God Brian thought for us to wear goggles. We persevered and made it to high dune but did not stay long, we couldn't, not without being blown to the next dune with the millions of other morsels of sand. Still, I got some cool shots and we got to witness another phenomenon, The Great Sand Dunes Tiger Beetle. This crazy thing is an endemic species, meaning they only exist on one location or area on earth, AKA the Great Sand Dunes. 

This is a really unique park and despite the harsh elements this time of year, we loved the scenery and wildlife.  

Herd of Mule deer

Medano Creek

 Hiking the dunes

The infamous Great Sand Dunes Tiger Beetle

So overnight little deersies came and licked Star clean of salt. How funny is that?

Next Stop: Durango, CO

Spring Skiing: Colorado Style

The drive was beautiful from Santa Fe to southern Colorado. We took 285 north through the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. Snow capped mountains brushed the landscape and Pronghorns grazed the newly green meadows. We could feel the temperature dropping as we crossed state lines. Great Sand Dunes National Park is located in the south central part of Colorado. We made it to the dunes in just over 4 hours from Santa Fe. Brian and I have been itching to do some spring skiing so after one night at the Piñon Flats Campground, we left the camper and drove up to Colorado Springs just to check it out. From there we B-lined it to Breckenridge for the ultimate Colorado spring skiing experience. Breckenridge Ski Resort had 2495/2908 acres to explore, 28/34 lift chairs running and 149 of 187 trails open. The base elevation is at 9,600 ft and the summit reaches 12,998 ft.  Over the next two days we conquered all 5 peaks of the ski area. I would say I am a confident intermediate skier and Brian is definitely a bold expert. Brian endeavored up to the summit beyond the lift to ski to drop in on one of Breck's bowls. I was with him only in spirit on that run. We got a good deal on a slope-side room for a couple nights so we skied hard for two days and enjoyed a couple evenings out in Breck. The conditions were pretty excellent for this waning season and comparable to really really good spring skiing in New England. It was slightly icy in the early morning but from 10-12 the snow was, soft, still groomed and fast. Shortly after noon the lower portions of the trails turned slushy and slow but we were skiing in t-shirts so we enjoyed it anyway.

Colorado to Brian is the same as Alaska is to me. While we may not have got the infamous pow-pow, we had a blast in the off-season with no lines, no crowds, still regular priced lift tickets (haha) and all the while, completing Brian's dream of skiing in Colorado. We will unquestionably be back for more, now that we've had a taste of the good stuff.

Next Stop: Back to Great Sand Dunes National Park