CORTEZ, COLORADO

Cortez, Colorado is a far as the trip planning went. Beyond here are options. We planned to stay here a month but the RV Park we chose does not have any monthly spot available. So we opted for two weeks. If we wanted to stay longer there are a number of other RV parks and campgrounds. We had wondered if a month was too long, perhaps, but these two weeks will be very busy.

We arrived Sunday afternoon (6th). It was about 6 hours from Taos including stops, mostly mountain driving. I will go out on a limb and suggest if a westerner tries to brag to you about tough mountain roads in the west, take him/her on a ride through the back country of West Virginia. Make sure they have a change of underwear. On Monday we went to visitors centers and collected paper with maps and words and then it was groceries and the odd items that seemed necessary.

Tuesday was Day One, Mesa Verde. There are two major routes in the park and one of those has two "loops." We are skipping some of the sites as they are physically challenging (politically correct terms, after all it is a national park). There are guided tours which are time consuming. Even without following Ranger Rick, you can spend three days exploring. We are planning on three half days, arriving at 7:30 AM and getting back to the trailer in the very early afternoon.

Today was Hovenweep National Monument. It turned out to be a must see. It is a large complex of square structures and round towers that was occupied in the 1100s-1200s.

 

 

Photos are Hovenweep National Monument