Mesa Verde

    Guess where I got to go yesterday? That's right Mesa Verde National Park! I have been wanting to go here since we came to Durango. Finally some other home school moms were going because the park was putting on a "Free Day" and that was the push I needed to get out there. Mesa Verde is only an hour away and then you half to drive a half hour up there mountain but what a spectacular view. The Fall colors were exploding all over the mountain. I am such a dork but I really love when trees turn colors and that just doesn't happen too much where I'm from. So witnessing all the foliage had me grinning ear to ear. Anyway, I checked Mesa Verde out online before we went because I wanted to have a game plan. The other moms had told me that the park was so big we would probably split up. So first we went to the visitor center and I got my kids some souvenirs. I'm the kind of mom that gets her kids postcards and squished pennies, so that's what we did while I gathered brochures. Oh yes, I did break down and buy them a mini "adventure scope" because I told them that we're all in the "Danger Club" it's a long story but I wanted them to have an adventurous spirit and the Danger Club has been founded since about 1990. ANYWAY. So we had our scopes, our brochures and we drove another five miles to the museum. Well first we saw a picnic table so we stopped for lunch and my kids got to experience something called peace and quiet. You know when you're in a naturally beautiful place and there is that stillness, I don't even know if they noticed, but I thought "what a gift, I've given them." In the days of constant stimulation, I'm glad they got to experience stillness, even if they were fighting over whose sauce belonged to whose lunchable and who gets to hold the bag of cookies. I heard it , the stillness was there.
       So then we went to the museum and picked up an activity book to become a Junior Ranger for the park. That's right, I read the pamphlet and I'm the kinda mom that loves dorky stuff and my kids dig it. So this activity book sent us on a scavenger hunt and we went through the museum to fill it out. We then went on a hike to "Spruce Tree  House" this was the only ruins that the stroller could make it down to see. People looked at me like, "lady, you know you have to come back up the hill right?" It was worth it, absolutely! To see these cliff dwelling up close, WOW! The Puebloan Indians also made "kivas" which we're round rooms that they used for different things, they had solid roofs with a little square opening and the kids got to go inside , I think they just liked climbing the ladder, but they had a blast. I did not hear one time that my kids we're bored or there feet hurt. Thats' the kind of fun we had. So after, we huffed our way back up to the museum and since we had completed the activity sheet, the boys were sworn in by the Ranger as a JR Ranger, to serve and protect all National Parks. It was really cute and silly but boy were they proud of their badges.
     Lastly, we went on the "mesa top loop" which is a driving tour that takes you by ten different sites that you can park and see more cliff houses , kivas and pit houses. It was a lot of getting in and out of the car, but the boys adventure scopes came in handy and they got to see some amazing cliff dwellings.
      If you have the opportunity to go to Mesa Verde I highly recommend it. The kids had a blast. I know it was weird. I am so fortunate to have these little adventurer's by my side. I think 6 and 9 are perfect ages because they're not "too cool" yet. Little Waylon is such a trooper, that kid is going to be a traveler some day, the things he's seen before his first birthday. Amazing. Anyway, I wanted to get this out to you before today started because yes, today we have some pretty special, wacky things to do . I'll tell you about it soon. Enjoy your day and find a little stillness if you can.

Pictures cannot do these cliff dwellings justice, they are amazing!