New Mexico April 2013: Moab through Monument Valley to Mesa Verde

Headed South from Moab on Rt 191 on our way to and through the Navajo Reservation. Sun is shining brightly but its still cold and windy! First stop was to Cedar Mesa Pottery in Blanding, UT. They manufacture some beautiful Native American pottery here. We bought a vase for our mantle as a souvenir.

We go through a wide variety of topography and geology but was we approach Monument Valley, you just know you're about to see something special. Sure enough, just like a guidebook had said, at mile marker 13 there was one of the "classic views" Spectacular! Eventually we arrived at the Navajo Tribal Park which was built on a hillside offering a remarkable view of the Monument's features. There's even a viewpoint called "John Ford's View" (you know, the famous western movie maker).

Our road then took us to what's called "Four Corners", where we expected to be able to plant our feet in four states (AZ, UT,NM,CO). Turns out there is a monument, but those pesky Indians wanted to charge us three bucks! Forget it.

We arrived at Mesa Verde NP by late afternoon. Just east of Cortez, CO, we started up the mountain. Little did we know that we'd have to drive 11 miles up this Mesa, finally ending up at 8500 feet altitude! The sun was blazing, the temp was 34 and the wind was howling! We settled into our room at the Far View Lodge and enjoyed a nice meal. (Shawn, both of our entrees were garnished with fried chives! you should try it!)

We'll explore the park tomorrow.