Vacation Tuesday - Cortez and Four Corners

This turned out to be the biggest surprise of the trip.  This day was really shaping up to be not so nice but had surprise after surprise.  The night before it was determined that no one would be returning to Mesa Verde.  The 16 mile road with hair pin turns, steep drop offs and no guard rail were appealing to exactly no one.  The night before Mom and I cobbled together a few plans for some more local walks around Cortez and Marge wanted a trip to four corners.  It wasn't looking promising, more like just a day to kill.

I woke up and headed out for my first true run at altitude.  I had a plan to run around a lake but when  got there the road was closed.  Instead I used it as a scouting trip to find the city trail we were meant to walk later on.  It's a good thing I looked for that stupid trail head becuase it took me more than one try to find it.  It turned out to be a good run.  I threw in a few walk breaks, just because I am opposed to having a heart attack but it gave me some confidence and burned off a lot of energy.

This rout and profile aren't that impressive.  I just think it's cool to have an elevation profile that says 6200 feet. 

This is the more impressive photo from the run.  The views were gorgeous.

After breakfast we headed out to a paved walking path maintained by the City of Cortez.  (Thank goodness I'd found it.)  At first, Qat Lady was saying she wouldn't explore in case she was tired from yesterday but eventually we explored the dirt paths and the side trails and had a really nice morning.

The second path we planned to walk was also under construction (like the lake I tried) so we headed over to the Anasazi Cultural Heritage Center.  AAA does not have this place rated as a gem but they totally should.  Just saying.  I basically can never enjoy any museums since spending countless years working in them so Mom and I took the 'half mile' walk up to the summit to look at the ruins and the scenery.

We also had a request to visit Four Corners which I described as "a cross on the ground in the middle of a desert".  That's really all it is but the drive out is pretty fantastic.  Turns out, true deserts are alive and scenic.  Four Corners is a totally cheesy place, but worth visiting if you're only 30 miles away.  It's great for a photo op and added several states to my "been there" tally.

 Marge didn't want to touch the ground so she hovered.  In her defense, the ground was really hot. 

The flags are of the US, the four states and also more than one tribe from the area.  I'm not clear but it sounded like four corners is at least partially on Navajo and Ute tribal land.

This is the only family photo from the entire trip.  After Mesa Verde, Dad was just totally over heights so he didn't do too much else with the rest of us.

 Taking a picture in the desert.  It's so big. 

We had Italian for dinner at a fantastic restaurant and another gem of Cortez. Then we made our plans for the next day.