Day 7 - Mesa Verde and a Canyon Sunset

As an east coaster it’s pretty easy to under appreciate our National Parks Service. Other than the occasional visit to Acadia, most of the parks and forests we get to visit are either a lesser class (and hence lesser funding) or run by one of the local or state governments that do the best with the resources they're given. Having hit well over a half dozen parks on this trip, let me shed a little more light on why the National Parks are worth visiting at any chance you get:

1. They Hire for Passion - The National Parks are notoriously under funded, meaning the majority of park employees are there for the love of nature…not just experiencing it, but learning and educating about it. Having encountered numerous park rangers, not one was rude, irritable or unfriendly. Their passion allows for a great individual experience as well as an even greater respect and ultimately a better park system one day at a time.
2. They’re Accessible - I’ve touched on it a few times, but the level of accessibility in the parks is second to none. While I’m not a big fan of the 100 yard max waddle culture we’re turning in to, I’m also not into 4 day long back woods hikes to see the sights (nor are ~99.9999% of the population). Over the decades, the parks system has made mind blowing sights accessible in a fairly eco-friendly way, and are clearly on a push to drive more individual activity in the park. Having the option to zoom through a park in a mind blowing two hours, spend an outdoorsy two weeks living in the back country, or anywhere in between is a privilege, not a right and we should all be more appreciative for it.
3. They’re Informative - Did you know the Anasazi had a permanent encampment at Mesa Verde for well over 700 years…or twice as long as we’ve currently been a country? Or that they ventilated kivas through a simple but highly effective process that is similar to how jet engines work? Or that they routinely traded with areas as far away with Peru (and have the full parrot feather blankets to prove it)? Neither did I until one of the outstanding Mesa Verde rangers provided one of the more entertaining hours of my life during the Cliff Palace tour. The amount of ingenuity, discovery and lost wonders exposed in that one hour will quickly make you realize that our current culture is yet a blip on a bigger map and maybe we should chill out about our minor irritations a little more. (Side note - Despite this enlightenment, I will continue to be a curmudgeon as it is my nature.)
4. They’re Affordable - We spent $80 total on a park pass and used it frequently. I’ve never had $80 provide so many “Holy Shit” moments in such a short amount of time.

And now for a quick run down of Day…

We started the day in the Far View lodge where we were lucky enough to find one final room online. The lodge is comfortable in a basic way (WiFi, private rooms, great views, decent food) and gets the day started much faster since it’s 15 miles into a somewhat difficult to navigate park. From there it was all heavy breathing as we took a Cliff Palace andSpruce Tree House tour, and hiked to some petroglyphs at 7,000+ feet where the oxygen is about 20% lower than that at 250 feet elevation in lovely Amesbury, MA.

As rambled above, the Mesa Verde tours were outstanding and you’ll not get a full appreciation for the dwellings without taking at least one. Naturally, TripAdvisor has a great list of the top attractions for when you want to go. And if you’re really lucky, you might get one or two outstanding National Park Ranger jokes:

Joke 1  

“Watch your step, the Anasazi didn’t quite meet OSHA standards on these structures”

Joke 2
Ranger: “What happens when water hits sandstone?”
Crowd: “Erosion.”
Ranger: “Right, and what happens when sandstone erodes?”
Crowd: *Head scratching*
Ranger: “That’s right - you get National Parks!”

Trust me, among certain crowds, these absolutely KILL!

Having had our fill after a day in the park, we jumped back into the clay covered Compass and headed out on a 4 hour drive to the Grand Canyon, but not before a delicious and quick lunch at El Burro Pancho (thanks again Yelp!).

After four hours on the road we hit the South Rim about an hour before sunset. Now I know what you’re thinking - Chad, you sly devil, you planned for a romantic sunset experience at the South Rim to really highlight your worth as a romantic partner. Logical right? 

Unfortunately, it couldn’t have been further from the truth, although the end results were the same - an enjoyable tour of the Desert View Drive Watchtower followed by an enjoyable sunset view at Moran Point where a combination of amateur photogs scoffed at our iPhone camera abilities and we scoffed at their dedication to taking marginally impressive photos.

Since we had limited time and the Grand Canyon really deserves multiple days during a future journey, we spent the rest of the evening in a quick tour of the Canyon by car, viewing of occasional elk and an hour long drive to Flagstaff where we white-trashed it up with fine dining at the Olive Garden before a final drive to search for Sedona Vortexes, gawk at dams and a final relaxing night in Vegas.