Mesa Verde in Cortez, Colorado

After leaving Monument Valley, we headed northwest toward Cortez, Colorado to Mesa Verde. Along the way we stopped at the Valley of the Gods...

And, then we drove to Cortez. Once you enter Mesa Verde it takes another 45 minutes or so to drive all the way to the southern end of the park to actually see the cliff dwellings. But, it is well worth the visit.

Monument Valley

Monument Valley is part of the Colorado Plateau on the Navajo Reservation located in southern Utah / northern Arizona. After exiting the highway, you stop at the visitor's booth and pay an entrance fee and get your map for the 17 mile red dirt road trail. The whole loop takes a few hours, but you can take all day, if you like. We were headed northwest to Mesa Verde, so we tried to keep the tour short.

Here are a few pictures....

East Mitten

Why, yes, that is the moon in the upper left corner.

Three Sisters

The North Window

East Mitten

Southwest USA - by the numbers

2880 - flight miles (each)

2110 - miles driven

9 - days

4 - states visited

1 - 'dry' hotel (sorry, Chuck)

4 - hours riding in the Caboose

15 - cities visited

1212 -pictures taken