Mesa Verde & Free Play

Not that we have preplanned any of this adventure, but our next stop to Mesa Verde National Park was not on either of our radars.  When looking at the atlas to figure out the best route to the Four Corners Monument we saw that the remarkable cliff dwellings were on our way back through Colorado.  So, after a full day at Mesa Verde we were then enticed to stop at the Ute Casino, initially just for the soda, but they also had popcorn, gave Katie tons of June birthday incentives & walked out BIG winners.  Of course all of this was too good to be true, because as we drove up to the Four Corners, which was in the middle of nowhere, we saw that the gate was closed.  The AAA Book noted that the monument was open an hour later & we had just missed it.  So, since we were hours away from any other civilization, we had no other choice than to drive all the way back to the casino to spend the night!

View from the Mesa Verde Balcony House Ranger Guided Tour
Our Park Ranger, Jill was fantastic & taught us quite a bit about the Ancestral Puebloans & how they lived

Babbitt climbing out of a passageway during our tour

Katie's buns crawling through a tunnel during our tour...everyone can thank Babbitt for this photo
The park has dubbed this tour the Indiana Jones Tour, because visitors have to climb
ladders & crawl through passageways...if only Anne & Harrison could have been there with us

Spruce Tree House
This is the only cliff dwelling that you do not need a Park Ranger Guide to explore

Birthday prizes from Sky Ute Casino
Not only did we each get $10 in Free Play, but Katie got an extra $20, dinner & cheesecake