Durango - Day 1

Durango is a pretty little town, and we sure are enjoying ourselves here.  It is good to be with family and enjoy the great outdoors.  The kids got to sleep in, and our campground has warm, free showers.  The Animas River flows just a few feet from our campsite, and we can hear it all night.  Everyone is happy.

We still had one more National Park to visit on our trip.  We have been planning Mesa Verde since the beginning, so we reluctantly packed up and left the peace of our camp (and company of Grandma & Grandpa) to hit this last milestone.

Mesa Verde houses the largest cliff dwelling in North America and is a very large and sprawling park.  We knew we wouldn't be able to see it all in a day, so we settled on the Balcony House tour.  You have to take a 40 foot ladder to get to this dwelling, and it is a little less popular than the enormous (and more easily accessible) Cliff Palace.  Sure enough, we had about 10 people total on our tour.  It was nice to be able to ask questions and really explore the ruins the way you couldn't with a big group.

We learned that only about 40 people lived in Balcony House.  It was a smaller "village" that interacted with the larger towns around it.  Although the Civilian Conservation Corps came in and cleaned it up a bit, most of the dwelling is original.  They know that the native people who lived here vacated the dwellings around 1278 A.D.  We were amazed that these structures have held up so long.

To leave the dwelling, we had to crawl through a short tunnel on our hands and knees.

And back up another (much shorter) ladder.  The kids, once reluctant to go, were really glad they made the trip to see Mesa Verde.  Most of us wanted to continue on and tour a couple of other dwellings while we were here.  Tatum, however, has a way of convincing us that we really don't want to take her somewhere she doesn't want to be.  So, we looked through the museum, hit the gift shop, and headed back to camp.

Grandma & Grandpa have been to Durango before.  They told us about this great place called Bar D Chuckwagon.  It's an old western dinner and show.  Grandpa & Grandma had brought cousins Jake & Jacy to Durango, too, so we all headed out to Bar D for some supper.

By the time dinner arrived, these kids were so famished that even Tatum cleaned her plate.  The menu included BBQ beef or chicken, baked potatoes, baked beans, rolls, spice cake, and fresh applesauce.  The kids washed it down with real lemonade, all served on tin plates and cups.

 

Connor ate two full helpings of everything.  That kid was in heaven.  He ate until he couldn't stuff down another bite.

Then the Bar D Wranglers took the stage for a fun performance.  The show was a perfect mix of music and comedy, and everyone had a blast.  The kids were talking about the show all the way home.  After a full day of fun, everyone was wiped out.  We were asleep in record time.  We're excited for what tomorrow brings.  Our little road trip is nearing the end, and we intend to soak up every last moment.