Day 5 - Mesa Verde National Park

Cliff Palace

We got up and drove an hour from Durango to Mesa Verde NP.  Then, once in the park, we drove another hour to the ruins.  The views from the drive itself were incredible.

It's hard to describe just how AWESOME they were.  We did the guided tours of Cliff Palace and Balcony House.  Balcony house had some pretty exciting climbs!

We squeezed through tunnels!

and we climbed on the side of a cliff wall!  This shows the slope of the cliff pretty well.

Here are a few more pictures of the ruins.

Day 4 - Durango

After leaving Black Canyon, we headed to Durango, CO.  We found a spot in an RV park on the outside of town, with a great view out the back window.  After looking at the picture, I realized it really doesn't do the view justice.

But, it was right next to the Durango - Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.  I have great memories of riding this when I was a kid.  And.....it didn't run at night!!

We walked around historic Durango, found a place to eat, then headed back to the camper.  That evening, we decided to head to Mesa Verde the next day, since we were close.

Day 3 - Black Canyon National Park

We got up early and hit the road.  After about a 5 hour drive, we ended up in Black Canyon Campground in the Santa Fe National Forrest, outside of Sante Fe, New Mexico.  It was a beautiful little park.  We didn't have reservations, but we were able to snag the last spot available.

The weather is unbelievable.  It was in the high 70s during the day and dropped down to the 50s at night with humidity in the 60s.  So of course we had a fire and roasted s'mores that night.

If you look closely, you can see Jen relaxing in the hammock in the pic below!

The next morning, Erin and I went on a hike.  It was short, but was a lot of fun.  This really is a beautiful park.

 

Sun setting behind the mountains