The Cliff Palace. Mesa Verde National Park.
October 12
The sun rose on a very cold and windy morning in Cortez. I turned on the television to see whether the previous night’s forecast had come true. Sure enough, it was 36 degrees outside at that moment. The strong wind made it feel like 17 degrees. The only good side to the weather was that there were no clouds in the sky. We wouldn’t have to trudge through rain or snow. But, it was still going to be a difficult time hiking in Mesa Verde considering the amount of bundling up we’d have to do.
We finished putting on our layers and went outside. We quickly discovered that it is one thing to hear about a 17 degree wind chill factor, and it’s another thing to experience it. The wind managed to find its way through our layers, instantly causing us to shiver. But, what was even worse was the feeling of the wind on our uncovered areas, like our faces. It actually felt like little knives were stinging our exposed skin. I was hoping that the wind would die down during the day so that we wouldn’t have to endure it during our tour. If it didn’t, it would be a very long day.
The cold conditions made eating a good breakfast essential. We thought we’d stop at the Belgian Quality Bakery, which was mentioned in Lonely Planet as one of Cortez’s best places for breakfast. Unfortunately, it was no longer open. So, we went next door to another Lonely Planet recommendation: the Earthsong Haven. This restaurant had the oddest décor I’d ever seen. It was a combination bookstore/restaurant. I’ve been in many bookstore/coffeehouses. But, I’d never seen a full scale restaurant in a bookstore. Imagine having a table in the middle of an aisle at the local Barnes and Noble, and you have an idea of the décor at the Earthsong Haven. Granted, it was convenient to browse the books while waiting for breakfast. Still, it seemed to be more of a mismatch than anything else. But, while the décor was definitely eclectic, the food was very good. The pancake I had was large and filling. Best of all, it only cost $2 for the pancake and some bacon. All in all, it did the job of filling us up for the day ahead.
We drove the 10 miles to the Mesa Verde National Park. It was another 20 mile drive to the visitor’s center. After picking up some tickets for a couple of tours, we drove another 10 miles to the sites. We spent the rest of the day visiting the various ruins.
After a long day at the park, we made our way back to Cortez. We were pretty hungry after all our hiking, so we wanted to go somewhere that would definitely fill us up. Again, we followed Lonely Planet’s advice and went to Francisca’s Mexican Restaurant in downtown Cortez. It turned out to be a great recommendation. We knew it was a good choice when we saw the large number of locals filling the restaurant’s tables. That impression was confirmed after we got our food. I had a chimichanga that was incredible. Best of all, the price was very reasonable ($6 for my plate). Overall, Francisca’s was a great choice for excellent Mexican food at reasonable prices.
With our stomachs full, we drove back to the hotel. We relaxed for a bit just to ease our tired muscles. However, the rest didn’t last too long, because we had to make sure everything was packed. Since we wanted to get an early start on the day (because we were going to be driving all the way to Fresno), we retired early that evening.
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