We got a pretty late start leaving Arizona but we decided that we had to see Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado so we drove up the western edge of New Mexico (another new state for me!) through some very empty looking country which was OK with with because I needed a nap.
When we got to the park we found there were lots of great places to camp. The
Morefield Campground
was huge and nearly empty. Daddy kept referring to it as the
Pat Schroeder Memorial Campground.
Anyway, it was a nice place as you can see from the pictures. Once we went to bed I realized that the park had a lot more inhabitants (the 4-legged type) than I had imagined. The deer walked all around our campsite and when I tried to warn my people they just said "Be quiet, Cookie." and "Go to sleep, Cookie!" They were completely unaware of the peril, while I, the ever vigilant dog, remained on guard duty.
The next morning was another early one since I would have to stay in the car while Mom and Dad explored. We broke camp for the last time and headed out to see the sights.
Here is what Mom and Dad saw. The first picture is of the Spruce Tree House. See the ladder the Anasazi used to climb down into a sacred room called a
kiva. The second picture is looking down at the Cliff Palace. Dad told Mom that she was too chicken to climb down to see it. She said too bad we don't have time for me to show you! The third picture is from the museum and it shows how the building might have looked when the Anasazi still lived here. The museum had lots of interesting displays.On the left you can see Mom sitting on the rim of a kiva at Far View Ruins. Mom and Dad really loved this place but I had to stay in the car. Lucky for me it was early morning and Dad managed to find shady spots.
After buying some pizza (YES!) at the Durango K-mart, Dad took us on the scenic route. Remember the picture of Mom & Dad goofing around at the
Wolf Creek Pass on the Great Divide? I put it on my first page. After we got through the mountain we stopped at this neat field so I could run around and run
around and run around. I was sure happy to get out of the car. See how pretty the Rocky Mountains look in the distance.
The next day we drove through
Kansas. It took almost all day to drive through Kansas. It is a very pretty state. I saw lots of cows. I like to look at cows. I also saw lots of corn but that doesn't interest me (unless it's popped corn but that's another story). Mom and Dad visited the
Eisenhower Center
and talked about it for hours and hours after they came back to the car.
We drove through Missouri and Illinois and the next day we drive through Indiana. Finally we got back to our good old house. Dad kept track of the miles and said we put 7000 miles on the van. It's a company van. Ha-ha. Anyway, thanks for traveling out west with me. This is only one of my travel adventures. I hope you will come with me up-north to our cottage in Charlevoix and read about my strange trip to the Florida Keys. Mom has promised to write it up during the summer of 2000.
Don't forget to checkout Mom and Dad's stuff too! The Website Index button will take you to a menu. Dad's pages which are word jokes. I think you have to be a person to find them funny. Mom has two sets of pages. First her old dolls that she collects and now the dolls she makes. She even has dolls in an art gallery. I got to help deliver them.
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