Mesa Verde, Colorado

I left off at my hotel in Williams, Arizona....

After resting, showering and making myself presentable, I went out for dinner in Williams. I sat at the bar of a place called Station 66 (The famous Route 66 that the Okies followed goes through here as well as Flagstaff). I had a local rye beer (I'd never had a rye beer before). It was really good. I don't know if it was truly really good or if it just seemed so because of my circumstances! Such is the way with camping; there are foods I eat when camping that I never eat at home. I sat beside a guy from New Zealand who was on a tour of the US with a group. He was just finishing his pizza dinner as I ordered a salad with shrimp for myself. I'm big on lots of protein while camping and hiking, but I don't get to eat much in the way of fresh veggies, so I was craving a salad. When my New Zealand neighbor got up to leave he declined a box for his pizza, so I said to the bartender: "I want a box for that pizza, it'll be my lunch tomorrow." And, so it was... delicious too! My dinner was nice as well and afterward I had an Arizona whiskey. It was mostly corn based, but had some rye too. It was good, firey like moonshine, not smooth and mellow like a Kentucky Bourbon. A treat : )

I worked out in my room the next morning then took another shower (had to get the most for my $140 room!). I headed to the Grand Canyon at 10 am. I bought an annual America the Beautiful pass at the entrance station, which I'm using again here at Mesa Verde Colorado. I'll also pass it along to my son for his westward trip in July. He's a bit free spirited like me!

It has been nearly 10 years since my last trip to the Grand Canyon and 17 since my first. I don't remember it being so overrun with people. Ugh! It was hard to enjoy it as it is now. Because of my blog post a friend reached out to me and told me of a sweet spot to go to. I found that and it was magical. I only saw seven other people there. Sweet, sweet, sweet! It was a mile walk to the view point, but easy going. And, there were no signs saying there was even a view there, that's why it's so private. When I asked a bus driver in the park about it, he had never heard of it. It was so nice I decided to sleep in my car there and hike out the next morning to see the sunrise. I hunkered down in the back of my 4Runner and went to sleep around 9 pm. At 10:30 pm I was awakened by a ranger and told I could not sleep there. Bummer! No signs indicating so, but I wasn't going to argue. He told me where I could go in National Forest outside the park. It's perfectly legal to park and sleep anywhere in national forest or on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. I drove outside the park and pulled off the road where I thought I was in national forest. I was not. I was awakened again by another ranger at 2 am. Ugh! He told me I wasn't quite where I needed to be. 500 feet down the road there was a turn off..... I drove down there and found lots of cars parked and even tents pitched, so I was finally in the right place. I hunkered down once again, but now had a 20 minute drive to get back to my special spot. I woke suddenly at 5am (Arizona time which is different than the rest of the country) and it was already light. I jumped into the driver seat, sped to my special spot, ran (I am NOT a runner) the mile to the viewpoint and missed the sunrise by about 10 minutes. It was beautiful none the less, and I took a few picks and walked back to my car to make coffee. It was too windy to linger there.

Then I drove again... through northern Arizona. I saw Vermillion Cliffs, drove down a little road to Lees Ferry and saw the Colorado River up close, drove over Navajo Bridge and saw the Colorado from an amazing height, drove to Page, AZ and saw the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell. I'd never seen these before, but have read Edward Abbey's cynical writings about them. I thought I'd go to Moab, UT next, but as I drove through desert, and stopped to look at my road atlas, I was drawn to the mountains, done with the desert. So, I changed course and drove through the Four Corners (where Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico come together), and landed in Cortex, CO deciding on Mesa Verde as my next stop. I visited Mesa Verde in 2008, but just briefly so I'm looking forward to exploring it more fully. I'm camped in the official campground, but slept in my car as it's just as comfortable as my tent and easier. I got my spot for free too. The girl that checked me in just let me have it! I don't know if it's because I look ragged and poor (maybe she heard about the pizza), or I remind her of her mother, or maybe it was just her random act of kindness for the day...  Speaking of Random acts of kindness; I picked up a hitchhiker yesterday. I love picking up hitchhikers. He was 20 years old and had been hitching around the country for three years. His dad is supporting him and bugging him about getting a job. He picks up random jobs, but not enough to support himself. He seemed to be a lost soul, did not speak well, fell asleep while riding with me. I hope I imparted some good words of wisdom, I told him about catering work and about Coolworks.com, but I'm not sure he has what it takes to even present himself and ask for a job. I don't know how to help someone like that.

I'm heading off on my adventures for the day.... Oh, yes, this campground has internet service! I parked next to the bathroom because that's where the router is and makes it possible for me to post this entry and even upload new pics. I'm even going to get a free shower later! Jeez, I have an amazing life!!! m~ox

Grand Canyon, etc. photos