Mesa Verde National Park

Spruce Tree House

At this point in our trip we seemed to take a turn from biology & geology to anthropology.  We began our education of the ancient Puebloan peoples and their sacred sites.  In these places I hesitated being a tourist.  These sites are the tangible remains of a grand civilization and it is clear that their descendants honor the places.  Much of the understanding of the people is lost to pre-history.   In the minds of present-day descendants these places are alive with the past.  The ways of knowing, living, and thriving in these desert environments are lost; unfortunately our society does value the cultivation of such knowledge.  The Ancient Puebloans were of the earth and worked with it to craft their civilization.  Today we seek dominion over the natural world it as if we were aliens upon this planet instead of the children.  These and many other thoughts came to mind as we existed in these spaces.  It is quite remarkable.  It seems right to approach these sites with a sense of the sacred in mind.

This stop also marked our return to the desert.  Though the elevation still provided some relief from the intense heat of Phoenix, highs were in the 90s and we had to remember sunscreen, water and snacks when we embarked on our hiking adventures.  One of our first adventures was to Step House.  This was a one mile roundtrip hike that starts 100 feet above the pueblo.  You hike down to the ruins and then back up along a winding path through the yucca and other high desert plants.  It was a hot hike - the hottest we had been on all summer, but it was rewarding to come around a curve and see the pueblo ahead of us.

Step House is just visible in the shade of the cliff wall

A pit house was reconstructed at Step House to give us an idea of how some of the earliest dwellings of the area were fashioned.

To the kids the best part of these tours were the ladders.  The best way to enter a cliff dwelling is the same way the original occupants entered.  Touring many of these ruins requires some effort and few are accessible to all populations.  Step House was one of the few that was on the accessible side of the spectrum.  You didn't have to climb the ladder, but my kids weren't going to pass up that opportunity!

Step House was a self-guided tour and you could borrow the guide from the rangers at the trail head.  The numbers were clear as you walked the trail.  We enjoy these types of tours as we like to stop along the path and read aloud to the kids.  We can also dive deeper into any concepts that need explanation.  It helps that Husband has his BS in Anthropology - as he can always provide a bit more information and context.  All of our National Park trips are an extension of the school year and fit beautifully into the life of a homeschool family.  One fact that was eye-opening was learning that of the 61 National Parks, Mesa Verde is the only one that preserves the cultural artifacts of ancient peoples.  The rest of the National Parks preserve the natural world.  There are over 4.000 archaeological sites in Mesa Verde.




Many of the sites can be observed via a driving tour and short walks to overlooks.  Getting to the sites requires driving over the mesas by traveling up, down and around the mountainous terrain.  There are three guided hikes that require tickets.  Cliff Palace is an hour tour and the least strenuous.  Even so ladder climbing is necessary to exit the site.  Reading the description of the tour we were unsure if it was something we should all do - we were worried about Sister, but looking back our fears were unfounded.  At one point I heard a ranger saying something to the effect that they never worry about the kids, its the parents that sometimes have a hard time with the tours!  As it turned out Brother and I ended up going on the tour first by ourselves and then we all went a second time as a family.  I could have gone on the tour many more times because each ranger has their own way of discussing the site and just being in the site is a mysterious and wondrous experience.

Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwellings with around 150 rooms.  It was built in the 1200s and was occupied for around 600 years.  It is absolutely amazing. 

The T shaped windows are common in the pueblos

One of many kivas

 As I mentioned...ladders...there are 100 feet of ladders to exit this site.  The kids didn't mind this one bit, in fact they thought it was a lot of fun. 

We will certainly go back to this park.  Next time I want to tour Balcony House which has more ladders as well as one or more tunnels you have to crawl through.  We really enjoyed this park and would like to visit earlier in the summer or at a different time of year to avoid the heat!  If you go, be sure to check out the archaeological museum - we really enjoyed learning about the many artifacts on display. 

Ancient Cedars RV Park, Mancos, CO

Ancient Cedars RV Park is a few miles from the entrance station and approximately a mile from the first visitor center of Mesa Verde National Park.  In terms of location it is absolutely an ideal place to stay in order to explore not only Mesa Verde, but also number of other parks within an hour radius (Canyon of the Ancients National Monument, Aztec Ruins National Monument, and Hovenweep National Monument).

On the downside, the sites are rather tight and we didn't have any shade.  There were shaded sites and I think they were slightly more expensive.  A strange thing about the layout of the park was that the sewer connections are uphill of the trailers in the row we were parked.  Since the dumping system works on gravity - that was a bit of an issue and Husband had to build up a ramp.  We did stay for a week and this was the one place where the WeBoost was absolutely  necessary.  We would not have had data if not for the WeBoost.  There is very spotty Verizon connectivity at the grounds of the park.  They did have WiFi as well and between the two Husband was able to work from home.

They boast a number of amenities and, for the most part, they are good.  There is a recreation cabin with a pool table and a foosball game.  We had some quarters eaten by the retro video game.  The cabin does not have air conditioning, but with the doors open there was a breeze.  It was a nice space to explore.  They also have a number of movies that can be checked out.

They have a putt-putt golf area.  We didn't use it, but it looked nice.  Also you get to a beautiful view of Mesa Verde while playing!

If you have a dog, you will not be disappointed by the dog park - It is huge!  They could have put less land into the dog area and more into making the RV sites bigger.  They also have a very nice playground (unfortunately I don't have a good picture).  The kids enjoyed it and it is right next to the laundry, so they could play while I took care of that.  On the issue of the laundry, it is a very small room with four washers and four dryers.  I used it twice and I was the only person using it both times, so it must be adequate for the park.  Their public showers and bathrooms were very clean.

One disappointing amenity was the pool.  I am not going to swim in a cloudy pool because, as a public health professional, I know that there are all kinds of nasty bugs one can get when pools are not properly maintained.  Regardless of my reservation, I saw other people swimming - but my kids were disappointed that I didn't find the pool clean enough.  I did complain to the office and was told that their maintenance person was delayed by a couple of days - well, depending on the use of the pool that could be a problem and I was glad that we didn't take a dip.

We stayed at Ancient Cedars RV park for 8 nights (we left Estes Park a day early and added a day to Ancient Cedars).  We paid a weekly rate plus per day fees for one kid for a grand total of $295/ week or approx $37/night.  They did give us the weekly rate for our extra night.

Lastly, the city of Cortez, CO is the place for grocery shopping and eating out.  It is 15 minutes away from the Ancient Cedars RV park.  There are also some RV parks in Cortez that one could consider, though I didn't check prices.  Surely Verizon would have been much better if we would have stayed in Cortez.

Pros:

• Proximity to Mesa Verde National Park and other sights within an hour radius.
• Nice amenities (putt putt, cabin, dog park, playground)
• Clean common areas (laundry, bathrooms/showers)
• Decent WiFi
• Dark park - no lights after 10 p.m. for night sky viewing

Cons:

• Small, narrow, sites with uphill sewer
• Pool was cloudy
• A bit pricey with the per day per kid extra fees.  I think it should have averaged closer to $30/night.

Rocky Mountain National Park (Part II)

Each day brought new adventures and we had wonderful weather!  One day the kids and I spent the day exploring Lilly Lake.  There were a variety of birds to observe and the trail was flat and took us around the lake.  I noted there was a second trail that took you up one of the mountains to look down on the lake, but we weren't up for a climb that day.  All around the lake were wildflowers and amazing views.  Here are a small sample of some of my photos.

Speaking of the birds...at one point on the trail a flock of geese had decided to rest.

Because we have been trained to "stay on the trail" we tried to pass them giving them as wide of berth as possible without leaving the trail...however a dominant male raised his head and started hissing at us in an evil and threatening way.  We thought it best to stray from the path and avoid the ire of the  gander.  It could have turned ugly, but we were giving off "we are leaving you alone" vibes!

Finally, when the work week was done we were able to visit the park as a complete family.  I saved one big adventure to do with Husband and that was to take the historic unpaved, one-way road - Old Fall River Road constructed between 1913 and 1920 to the Alpine Visitor Center.  It proved to be a beautiful and fun drive up the mountain to nearly 12,000 feet!

At some point on the drive there were two hitchhikers with snowboards and other gear along the road.  We inquired as to whether they needed assistance and they asked if we could take them to the Alpine Visitor's Center because they were planning on snowboarding back down the mountain to their vehicle!  We offered them a ride and they rode in the back of the truck.  When we reached the summit, I spoke to them a bit further.  They had been snowboarding that section of mountain for nearly 20 years!  Though the snow looked very patchy to me, they said there was ___ vertical feet of snow (I can't remember, but it sounded impressive).  We parted ways at the summit, because they had to hitch a ride to another location before they started their adventure, but it would have been really cool to watch them!  Here is a view of the last stretch of the Old Fall River Road - clearly the snow was still rather deep in places!

Because the Alpine Ridge Trail was such an adventure we decided to hike it again with Husband.

On the drive back down the Trail Ridge Road we saw herds of elk.  They seemed to love the snow!

Our last adventure at Rocky Mountain National Park was to visit Lilly Lake a second time and take the more mountainous trail to the overlook.

I feel we only scraped the surface of this huge National Park and if I can find a better place to stay (other than Estes Park) I would definitely visit again!  It was a wonderful park to visit in the summer as the weather was absolutely perfect for hiking.  Also there doesn't seem to be a bad view anywhere in the park!  The special thing about this park is the diversity of ecosystems from the montane to the alpine tundra with a vast variety of wildflowers from the lowest to the highest elevation!

Near Lilly Lake

Alpine Sunflower and other alpine wildflowers

Rocky Mountain National Park (Part I)

Despite our disappointing accommodations, Rocky Mountain National Park turned out to be one of my favorite parks in terms of natural beauty. Everywhere you look is postcard scenery and the range of elevations lets you explore riparian, montane, subalpine and alpine tundra ecosystems. 

When arriving at a new park we generally head straight to a visitor center grab the Junior Ranger books, park map and brochures and then choose a short hike to get started.  The first visitor center we found was the Moraine Park Discovery Center because the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center was closed the first two days we were there for parking lot resurfacing.  We were thrilled when we found out that the Discovery Days event was just getting started and there were many stations that the kids could explore.  We spent all morning moving from station to station and learning about how the park was formed (glaciers), what sort of wildlife call it home, and how to be a good steward of the land.  

Another really great thing about this park was how many beautiful short hikes (around 1 mile) were available for exploring streams, lakes, cliffs, and alpine tundra!  Armed with the maps and brochures we chose a few short hikes.  The first was in Hidden Meadows - we had no idea Hidden Meadows is the Junior Ranger Headquarters for the park!  We had time for the hike and made it back just in time to join the Ranger talk which taught us about the connections between the various trees, animals, ecosystems, and fire cycles.  It was a great talk.  

If you have more than a day to spend at any National Park, it is a great idea to attend a Ranger talk and work on the Junior Ranger books early in your visit because it really orients you to the ecosystem and wildlife.  We were able to make observations based on the knowledge we gained from the visitor center/ranger talk/junior ranger books.  Next we hiked Sprague Lake another beautiful place where the fish jumped out of the lake to chase the colorful dragon flies that dashed over the surface of the water.  It was a great show.  

Our final hike that day was Bear Lake - it was one of our favorite hikes with many gorgeous lookouts and rock formations to climb upon and look out. 

By the end of the second day the kids earned their Junior Ranger badges as they are getting quite good at working on them during the drives between hikes and on snack breaks.  

The next morning when taking Husband "to work" we passed these beauties in front of a gas station in town.  We had also seen wild turkey, a snake, and many birds including a magpie who was hanging around our trailer.  Apparently there were also black bear in our campground, but I didn't see them.  

On our third excursion we drove to the top of the world via Trail Ridge Road - at least that is how it felt!  We explored the Alpine Tundra where the trees are sparse and snow lay in patches upon the ground.  Up and up and up we drove....when your kids are telling you "be careful mama, drive safe!"  It is a white-knuckle drive.  As I had to keep my eyes on the road, I didn't look down the steep slopes until we were parked at the Alpine Visitor Center.  

Then we hiked up the Alpine Ridge Trail to 12,005 feet above sea level.  In the middle of July when Phoenix is baking we were in a place with snow on the ground! At this elevation wildflowers and mosses grow from rock that shines in the sun.  

I think it is a 400 foot elevation change climb to the top...here is the view of the parking lot coming back down.

It was my first time being at that elevation and yes, the climb is difficult due to the thin air.  I had a similar sensation to the one I felt at Yellowstone - I felt I was in an alien land.  The ecosystem was so unfamiliar we were at such a great height.  It was an amazing experience one that we had to visit again before we left, but on that day we drove back down the Trail Ridge Road appreciating the beautiful change in ecosystems from Alpine Tundra, to Subalpine to Montane!

Spruce Lake RV Resort, Estes Park, CO

Perhaps my expectations were a little too high for this place - I mean, I had just come from a week of camping that cost $63 (granted without hook-ups) in a virtual secret garden and the next week cost a whopping $478.  For nearly $500/week one expects a lot.  Unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations or our needs.

Let's talk about the biggest problem - no cell, data or WiFi.  How is it that such a touristy place has a huge hole in the Verizon service?  Oh, and by the way, the Verizon coverage map for Estes Park shows solid coverage - I know this because I checked before making reservations.  The most crazy thing is that our phones showed 4G and 3-4 bars but we could barely make a phone call.  The first day Husband spend two hours on the phone with Verizon tech support.  Ultimately they admitted this is a "known problem" and that it was unlikely it would be fixed during the time we were in the area.  We also went to the Verizon store and were fed a line of BS having to do with how crowded the town was - the nonsense about that is that the most crowded part of town had excellent service, it just dropped off on the east part of town.  While Verizon is not the fault of Spruce Lake RV Resort, their shitty WiFi is.  Being in such a dead zone for Verizon it seems they would realize they need to step up the WiFi, but it was useless.  We could connect but it was slower than dial-up...we were getting around 56Kbps.  Husband could not work on the connection and neither could I. 

The second issue with this park is that it seemed they gave us a site too small for our rig.  We were parked along the very edge of the park.  The boundary fence lined the road.  We had a hell of a time backing the rig into the site without hitting the fence.  We went back and forth and back and forth trying to angle it in with the truck at approximately 90 degrees from the trailer.  Eventually we got it, but it was very difficult and I really don't think it had anything to do with our abilities, rather that the space was not deep enough for a 35' trailer.  The width of the site was adequate.  There was plenty of space to park the truck next to the trailer.  The other down side of the site was being under the power lines.  I wondered if that interfered with the WiFi...it certainly interfered with the view.

The park was packed - one morning after our neighbor behind us left I took a picture behind the rig to show how busy it was.

The third issue was with the town - Estes Park is overrated and a total tourist trap.  There were masses of people wandering the downtown each day.  The traffic was a nightmare and we wouldn't have had to deal with it, except that we had to commute to the library so that Husband could work.  With only one vehicle we had to all get up early and drive him to McDonald's where he could connect until the library opened.  Each day proceeded differently, but we got into a routine with going to McDonald's each morning.  Oh, and by the way this McDonald's is insanely busy.  Sometime there were no tables available and we would have to have the kids patrol the store and grab a table when a party got up to leave. 

Spruce Lake has a pool, but it is lack luster when compared to what we are used to in Arizona.  The biggest problem is that there is no bathroom nearby.  You have to walk your five-year-old to the middle of the campground to the public restrooms...so that just means the pool is full of urine.  After one day of swimming we didn't go back.

One positive was that there was a playground and there were lots of kids to play with.  The kids loved the playground and right next to the playground was the lake and a view of the Rocky Mountains.  I mean, that is why we were there!  So the best part of the park was the view from a bench next to the playground.

There was a small laundry room at the park, with an emphasis on small - I usually take pictures of the facilities, but there were always people in the room and I didn't want to put anyone on the spot.  Anyhow, it was crowded and inadequate for the size of the park.  The toilets and showers seemed clean, though I didn't use the showers. 

Closer to downtown I found a little pocket park near an residential area where the Verizon service was good.  On a couple of occasions I worked there while the kids played on the playground.  Husband said the library was nice except for one overzealous librarian.  However, the inconvenience posed by having to leave Husband downtown was disappointing.  A couple of days the kids and I went into the Rocky Mountain park in the AM and then came back and met Husband for lunch before heading back to the park for the afternoon.  More on Rocky Mountain National Park in the next post(s)!

Here is my summary:

Pros:

• 10 minutes from the entrance to the Rocky Mountain National Park
• Good view by the lake
• Full hook-ups & wide level site
• Playground and pool enjoyed by kids

Cons:

• Overpriced.  We paid the Good Sam weekly rate plus additional person fees per day.  
• Crowded
• Avoid Estes Park if you can - too touristy
• Terrible WiFi and in a dead zone for Verizon
• Small crowded laundry room
• too short of site for our rig
• no bathroom by the pool?  why do this?
• Working from home was not possible

Lewis Park, Wheatland, WY

The drive from Medicine Lodge to our next stop in Colorado took two days so we had to find an overnight spot to stop.  I used a couple of apps including RV Park Advisor and RV Parky to find a place.  We ended up with a jewel of a park - a city park with free electricity right off of the I25.  (There is a box where you can leave a donation if you feel so inclined)

This was a perfect place to stay and had very clean bathrooms with flush toilets.  I read there is a dump station, but we didn't need to use it so I didn't notice it first-hand.  There were tennis courts, a basketball court, and a skate park on the side of the park where we were parked.  I think there was more to the park if you walked past the bathrooms, but I didn't have time to explore.  Why don't more cities have these types of facilities?  It was so nice.

This is yet another confirmation of how amazing Wyoming is.  I am blown away!  I loved the state last summer and even more the second summer.  Thank you Wyoming!  Oh and by the way if you really want to know how amazing Wyoming is you should learn about how they fund public education.  This should be the model for the rest of the nation.