Long rides, Mesas and more

Well, needless to say, there wasn't a post last night. That is because the place we were staying, The Far View Lodge in Mesa Verde National Park, had no television, no cell phone service and no internet service. One of the children who will remain nameless, said "what are we gonna do???"
Backing up....leaving Colorado Springs was difficult. There were so many things we wanted to see and do that we didn't have time for. So off we went for Cortez, Colorado and Mesa Verde. We were "somewhere" in the middle of "nowhere" when we had to stop to go to the bathroom. While there, a guy told Julie that we just had to see the Great Sand Dunes. After all, it was only two and a half hours from Mesa Verde.
We could see the dunes from 10 miles out, and when we got to the guard gate for the park and saw that we had to pay $3 per person to go in, we turned around.
Will summed it up best when he said, "Why do we need to pay to see sand we can already see?"

And was it two and a half hours to Mesa Verde? Nooooo...more like four hours. We had lunch at a Sonic somewhere, which is Julie's least favorite place to eat.
But going to Mesa Verde was worth it. We saw wild horses running around, deer, an eagle and a coyote. Our lodge was on the top of one of the Mesas, and we could see "forever".
We had dinner in the lodge, and it was great...I had buffalo, Julie had trout, others had Salmon.
This morning, at 5:00 a.m., the sun was a brilliant red as it rose over the Mesas. We could see it out of our picture window. We got up and drove to the "The Palace" archeological site. It was bigger and more overwhelming than I ever imagined it could be. Julie and I both said we would go back to this again sometime.
Traveling from Mesa Verde, we went to the four corners monument (where Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado come together). The kids had fun with pictures, playing "twister" over the four states.
Then, it was miles and miles and miles with no place to eat. We drove way too long without food until we came through Flagstaff to Williams, Az. Tonight, we had dinner in Williams, on historic Route 66. There was a rodeo today, and people in their "cowboy attire" were everywhere. Tonight we had a major lightning and rain storm, and even had small hail. Hope tomorrow is better.
Tomorrow morning we go to the Grand Canyon. Hannah is convinced the whole state of Arizona is one big canyon, and that the grand canyon is just deeper than the rest. I can't really argue with her.
Well....everyone but me is in bed now. It is 9:40 p.m. here.....12:40 a.m. back home. So, let me sign off and wish every one well.
We hope everything goes well at church tomorrow.
---WJLsr

More Thoughts from Hannah

So, I thought I'd might give my little spill on what I feel like is a pretty good sum of the states and places we have been so far.

Nashville, Tennessee: We didn't stay there that long, but we have been there before and it is a pretty cool city. I don't really like country music, but do like Nashville. Tennessee isn't too bad to look at out a window either.

Illinois: Even though we just drove through it it, I don't like it. Illinois stinks. No literally it smells bad. I don't know if it's all the Purina buildings or the corn, but Illinois is not pretty to look at and it smells bad. God farted when we made Illinois.

St. Louis, Missouri: I was pleasantly surprised by St. Louis. Not only does one of my favorite rappers, Nelly, come from here, but it is quite a beautiful city. The Arch is wonderful and we didn't get shot while we were there. Overall I loved Missouri.

Hays, Kansas: Hated it. There is nothing in Kansas. It's cool for about the first five minutes when you're like "wow, you can see for miles," but then it gets really old really fast. Ansley put it right when she said: "you know when I think of Kansas, I really don't think about anyone living here." Why would they? There is nothing in Kansas. Kansas could disappear, and I'm pretty sure only about 50 people might care.

Colorado Springs, Colorado: I love Colorado. I want to move here. It is beautiful. There are no words to describe it's beauty. We will DEFINITELY be coming back, and I will be rock climbing.

Mesa Verde, Colorado: Still loving it despite not having cell phone service or a tv. Cliff dwellers were insane though.

Flagstaff, Arizona: I think all of Arizona sunk at some point in time and the Grand Canyon just went really far down. It was a very pleasant ride and it is very beautiful. Grand Canyon is tomorrow, so maybe more to come.

Peace out.
-H