Day 14 — Mesa Verde National Park

It was probably a good call to stay in the Far View Lodge last night. Rather than hustling to choose a campsite and set up camp in the dwindling twilight last night, we had the luxury of waking up this morning, making our way back down the mesa to the campground, meandering through the campground to find the perfect spot (we chose the site where a deer stood under the trees munching on leaves), and taking our time getting set up and situated.

Far View Lodge, Mesa Verde NP

On our way from the lodge down to the campground, we could see what we couldn’t last night in the dark: While the park road takes several switchbacks as it winds its way a couple thousand feet up the mesa, the side of the road plunges abruptly and steeply. One slip of the steering wheel could send you sailing. 

After setting up the tents, we got back in the van and drove back to the visitors center at the park entrance, where we picked up Junior Ranger packets and bought tickets for cliff dwelling tours tomorrow. We asked the rangers if we will go to jail for disregarding posted signs and taking a trailer up to the lodge at the top of the mesa last night. The rangers winced and explained that if we had taken the trailer beyond the lodge toward the cliff dwellings, which are about 15 miles farther down the road, we could have gotten ourselves in quite a pinch, as the road narrows and the hairpin turns get especially harrowing. But now that we’ve got the trailer parked at the campground, we are free to take our van up and down the park road to our little hearts’ delight.

We took it easy for the rest of the day, driving into nearby Cortez to pick up groceries at Wal-Mart and spending the rest of the afternoon at the campground doing laundry. Keith and the kids continued their ongoing National Park Monopoly game while I tried to update the blog.

For dinner, we drove back up to the Far View Lodge for a special dinner in the Metate Dining Room, with sweeping views of the valley below. Natalie surprised us all by digging in to a platter of pheasant and rattle snake sausage, which, she says, “tastes like sausage.” Shocker.