Mesa Verde, CO; The Arches, Canyonlands, & Capitol Reef National Parks, UT

9/8/10 Pagosa Springs, CO. After a morning dip in the mineral hot springs in the rain, and a brunch of yummy green chile huevos rancheros, we geared up and headed towards Durango. Our rain gear is getting another workout!

The rain stopped before we got into Durango and no, Mark isn't leaving me. He has the Harley in the shop getting his 5000 mile oil change! We are walking down the road to a BBQ joint to wait out the 2 hr. service. That was the last time I sent the blog! There just isn't enough time, internet connection or energy left very often!! We went into Durango and encountered another thunderstorm but had a fun time walking around the old town and eating dinner. We spent the night outside of town at a P.E.O. bed and breakfast. It was nice to have a "home" for the night.

9/9/10 Day 33. We are at Mesa Verde National Park- almost to the Colorado/Utah border. We are standing at Park Point at 8571 feet. The park is about 20 miles in off the main road and is an absolute breathtaking landscape of canyons, cliff dwellings, mesas and juniper covered hills. It is in the heart of the Four Corners and you can see 161 miles from up here.

Mesa Verde- The Squirrel Tree House. This was the dwelling of the ancestral Puebloan culture from about AD400-1200. There were numerous of these cliff dwellings and this one we could hike down to and explore. They weren't discovered until the late 1800's by ranchers looking for roaming cattle. It was an unbelievable experience to see these and the kiva's and pithouses.

Getting a view of how hidden these dwellings are. The Puebloans would plant their gardens(mainly corn and beans) on the top of the mesas and hunt game and turkey for food.
The museum that was there had many artifacts from that time period- so interesting.

After touring Mesa Verde for the day we pulled into Cortez, CO and stayed at this motor motel with a great view of the mesa behind Mark. The sunsets and starry nights around here are awesome. Such open, clear skies we've had most nights since New Mexico.

9/10/10 Leaving Cortez, CO and crossing over into Utah. All along the roadways, since Illinois, we've seen wild sunflowers. Here was the first full field of "sleeping" sunflowers we saw this morning. They were waiting for that wake up call of the sun.

We made it! One our "big destinations" that we had planned. Off to discover the canyonlands of America.

9/10/10 The Arches National Park. The weather was high 70's to high 80's all week here. Great for touring around. It is amazing what weather, water and rocks can do over time. The rocks here are miles thick and each layer represents a different environment that existed in the past. There are layers of sandstones, mudstones, shales, salts and limestones all stacked up. There are different "arches" such as The Windows, The Double Arch, The Delicate Arch , The Skyline Arch, etc. You could take hikes in numerous areas. We stuck with the "short scenic" ones!

This reminded me of the 3 wisemen but I think they call it the 3 gossips!

The Balanced Rock. It was cool to see these formations from different angles. It was about about 30-40 miles roundtrip of windy roads through this "natural art". This would be the first of many times we were awestruck over the canyon venture.

You can see the "Delicate Arch" behind us. We hiked up to the upper viewpoint but didn't attempt the 3 mile RT to get right under it. Mark's cold, the heat, the time and the altitude were deciding factors! There were always nice people who would take out pictures and were always up for a conversation! The couple who took this picture were from Bothell, WA!

9/11/10 Moab, UT. This was the sunrise from our campsite at the local KOA! We had a good nights sleep especially since I got a new sleeping bag yesterday that is warmer. The temperatures up here are dropping onto the 30's at night already.

Camper Mark making coffee for us for breakfast! We even had 2 jack rabbits hanging out with the occassional lizard. We bought steaks last night at the "Old Geezer Meat Market" and cooked them up on our little fry pan. The woman that owned the market even gave us a couple of her own tomatoes and a cucumber so we could have some vegtables! I told you we have run in to nice people.

9/11/10 Canyonlands National Park. Best view from the restaurant when you are eating your PB & J sandwich! This was the Green River Overlook. The Colorado and Green River confluence runs through Canyonlands

Best friends on their journey! This area is 527 square miles and has hundreds of canyons, mesas, buttes, arches and spires. It reminded us a little of the Grand Canyon but just went forever.
The couple that took this picture were Harley riders from Austin, TX.

More of the expansive view of the Canyonlands, The other 80 pictures are in my "library"!

Kathy on "top of the world" at Panorama Point. You can tell Mark had the camera this day....

When we were at the Canyonlands we visited with a Gold Wing rider and he suggested we take the Potash road on our way back to Moab for some more scenery. It was amazing. A narrow road that followed the river with these sheer cliffs the whole way. It was a haven for rock climbing. I tried to talk Mark in to that idea but to no avail! the sun was in the right spots to get perfect shadowing on the little venture.

9/12/10 Good morning sunshine at our campground again. We stayed a second night which was nice so we could get laundry done and not have to set up and tear down camp each day. What a view to wake up to. Off to the Capitol Reef National Park today. We had fun visiting with other motorcycle riders in the laundry room. Everyone has a story about bikes breaking down, going on roads that aren't meant for street roads, and getting tips on the next destination. I even watched a video a guy had shot from mounting his small camera on the blinker of his bike when he went off the main roads. Yes, he had a cross over BMW!

9/12/10 Look carefully on the cliff and you can see prehistoric petroglyphs on the wall of the cliff. This was on the way into the Capitol Reef. There were fields of orchards, the Fruita Schoolhouse, and the Gifford Farmhouse- all remenants from early Mormon settlers.

Captitol Reef is also called the Waterpocket Fold and the Land of the Sleeping Rainbow. There is a 100 mile long fold in the earth's surface that holds rainwater and snowmelt. there is a 1,000 foot high stone barrier that has been sculpted into astonishing views. This park was more remote and at times we wondered if we were on the moon with the landscape!

Fun riding on these more narrow roads. Lots of off road trails but they were all gravel and just not doable with our bike. You can really see the changes in color of the rock and the "reef like cliffs. They said there is almost 10,000 feet of sedimentary strata in the Capitol Reef areas with 200 million years of history.

The white domes of Navajo Sandstone that resembles the capitol dome of Washington D.C. hence the name of the park! We continue to be awestruck at nature and what is in "our own backyard" to explore.

We are off to Torrey, Utah then on our way to Bryce Canyon. More updates later and hello to everyone back home!

The National Geographic Adventure continues.......