Day 9 – Mesa Verde

Brushing the sand out of our eye sockets at Echo Basin RV Resort, we were happy to wake here on Easter Sunday. Anna made sausage, eggs, and coffee while I started to clean and pack stuff up. While she was cooking we also made sure to give calls to the family and wish everyone a wonderful Easter! The breakfast Mama made was delicious! It always tastes better when made outside.

After some final clean up and we were off on the road to Mesa Verde. Mesa Verde was about a 1.5-hour drive. We got to the park entrance around 10:30am. We stopped in the visitor center for just a bit and then headed into the park. Once we got through the entrance, the Indian dwellings were 21 miles into the park. It was about a 45-minute drive to get to the main museum and main area. There were three main trails and two were closed, due to repairs and it not being in season. Mama and I headed on the open one – Petroglyph Trail – a 2.4-mile walk. It was a wonderful, yet strenuous trail, for most people. The walk took close to two hours.

Got back to the car and hit a few more spots in the park where we could get a little more up close to some of the Indian dwellings. After getting our fill of Indian life, we made our way out of the park. One the way out, we spotted two wild mustangs. We were both so giddy with excitement to see wild horses. Where else would you ever see that?

Anna and I discussed going to Durango, since it was so close, but decided to just go ahead and make our way to Bryce Canyon. Heading back, we went back through Moab, so we stopped in at the Moab Brewery. The food was awesome! I had a Moab Burger which was absolutely huge! I had to cut it in order to fit in my mouth. Anna got grilled Artichoke and some Mexican street corn. We both had a few of the local brews. Chatted with a cute couple visiting from Rhode Island. Finally, around 8:30pm we headed out the door and made our way to Lazy Lizard Hostel for a shower. A $4 shower!

Back in the van and Mama laid down while I drove. The drive from Moab was still a 5-hour drive to Bryce Canyon. It was quite dark out, especially where there is close to no civilization near us. I drove a piece of I-70 where there were no gas stations or any other amenities for 104 miles. Drove until about 1:30am and then pulled off on a cattle road to camp for the night.