Day 3 - Grand Canyon to Mesa Verde Nat'l Park, CO

We were fortunate to get an early start this morning for the 300 mile jaunt to Colorado. The first 30 or 40 miles of our journey were all along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. There were overlooks every couple miles or so and we really didn't have the time to stop at every single one but the few that we did stop at never ceased to amaze me. The grandeur of the the Canyon is breathtaking and should be experienced by everyone. Our last stop before leaving the Canyon was the Desert View Tower which was built in the 1930's of natural stone. It rises above the canyon rim with superior views in all directions. It was a fitting end to a great time at the Canyon.

Miles and miles of pure nothing awaited us as we drove across northern Arizona towards the famous 4 Corners National Monument. We were so excited to stand at one spot and be in Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico all at once. Well, let me tell you...it was a freakin' joke! The "monument" (I use that term loosely) is on Indian lands and they "maintain" it. Yeah, right!!! Granted, there was construction going on at the actual center of the 4 states but everything around it was just run down Native American trinket stands. Very run down!! Not worth the time or effort. I suppose we did walk all the way around and can officially say that we have visited 4 states today. The "monument" part of it was a joke.

We finally arrived at Mesa Verde Nat'l Park which is at the top of a huge mesa that rises off the plateau. The views were fantastic as we drove up. Another thing....we are surrounded by green!!! Green grasses and trees. Definitely NOT in the desert anymore. We found our campsite just in time as the park really filled up fast. Unfortunately, our site is right by the restroom that has a squeaky door and a big sodium vapor light outside it. We'll survive.

There is very sporadic cell phone access so I'm sitting outside the General Store on their slow-as-molasses wifi. No pictures will be uploaded today, unfortunately. When I get good access, I'll upload pics from today and add some from yesterday too. I don't know where we'll be tomorrow. Maybe further east in Colorado....maybe not! :-)