Our agenda for day three (Thursday, November 4th) of our trip was a busy one. We woke up in Farmington, New Mexico and hit the road early for Four Corners Monument, which was just over an hour's drive from where we had stayed.
I had read that the monument could get very busy even in the off-season, so our goal was to be there no later than 9:00am. We made our goal, but what we didn't anticipate was how COLD it would be at that time of the morning. It certainly wasn't busy, though!
Brecklyn in New Mexico, Brenson in Arizona, Brianna in Utah, and Brooke in Colorado!
So fun to be in four states at the same time!
Brenson
Brooke
Brianna
Brecklyn
Chris
Masks were still being required at the monument - which we found to be annoying - but they did help keep us warm, lol. I hate the way they look in photos, though.
You can see from the background of the photos that the place was pretty empty while we were there. As I was taking photos of my kiddos on the monument, a native American woman walked up with her elderly parents waiting patiently for their turn on the monument. I had all my kiddos step to the side, and then took photos of this lady and her parents. She was so grateful, and that kind of birthed a fun little banter between us. She was hilarious and sarcastic, and we enjoyed her jokes and company throughout the rest of our visit. She reminded me of Tia in many ways, and I feel like I should have gotten her phone number to keep in touch, haha!
She kindly took this family photo for us :-).
The official survey marker
Each side of the monument a beautiful and unique view.
On the perimeter of the monument area stand buildings that are divided into cells of sorts. This is where souvenir venders set up their shops. Only about half the shops were open while we were there, although more were opening as the morning went on.
Loving the views!
Different direction . . . different view!
The next stop on our itinerary for the day was Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. It wasn't long at all before we crossed the Colorado state line!
It was a peaceful and beautiful spot to have lunch, although it was very windy and chilly. The kids got a little excited when we first walked up and saw signs warning of bears in the area . . . a couple of them were ready to just eat in the van! No bears this time, though.
After lunch, we continued our way along the scenic drive. We stopped for a few minutes at Montezuma Valley Overlook.
Our next stop was at Park Point, which is the highest point in the park, as well as home to a fire lookout tower.
It was a short hike to the summit of Park Point, so of course we had to take it!
The fire lookout tower was very interesting, and the kids had alllll the questions about it. The best part was being able to see so much of the park!
At this point, we had sadly spent all the time we had to spend in the park. We started to make our way back north to the entrance and visitor's center, but had to stop at this neat tunnel on our way out.
We made a quick stop at the visitor's center to use the restroom before continuing our trek north to Moab, Utah.
It was a little over two hours driving time between the Mesa Verde visitor's center and Moab. Most of the road was a windy, two lane road that cut right through amazing rock formations and desert landscape. We were all amazed at the rock formations that were *seemingly* randomly here and there.
The Mesa Verde National Park visitor and research center is only about an hour's drive from the Four Corners Monument. We made great time, and were so excited to visit our first National Park of the trip!
Bren
Brianna
Brooke
Brecklyn
The visitor's center was fairly small and still actively practicing social distancing and masking. This meant that only a few of us were permitted in the center at a time and the movie about the park wasn't running :-(. We were disappointed about that, but we knew this was a possibility when we planned the trip.
The good news was that we had more time to explore the park. We knew we were on a time schedule, so having a bit more time didn't hurt, for sure! We started driving south on the scenic road that cuts through the park. Our first stop was Mancos Valley Overlook, and it was incredible!
Brooke
Mancos Valley Overlook
By this time, we were all about ready to have some lunch, so we drove just a bit farther into the park and stopped at Morefield Campground to eat. The campground was actually closed for the season, but we were able to use the picnic tables.
Daddy and Brecklyn
As you can see from Brooke's hair, it was a bit windy, haha!
Momma and Bren
We made it to Utah!
Church Rock (about 41 miles south of Moab)
Brooke
Brecklyn
Brianna
Wilson Arch (about 25 miles south of Moab)
As we were getting closer and closer to Moab, a little bit of anxiety started to get the best of me. The road felt SO narrow and windy, and we were constantly being passed by huge RVs and tour busses that looked like they were going to run right off the road. The scenery was amazing, and I'm a little sad that I wasn't able to enjoy it more and take a few more photos.
We finally arrived (safely) in Moab around 5:00pm. Our lodging reservations were at the Holiday Inn, which is located on the North end of town. This meant we got to drive all the way through Moab on the main road before reaching our hotel, AND that we were closer to the National Parks we planned to visit. We had a first floor suite (which we've never had before) which made coming and going from our room very easy. We were very happy with our accommodations!
As soon as we got checked-in and moved-in, we headed back into the main part of Moab in search of dinner. We landed at a Mexican restaurant right on the "strip". Parking was busy, so we had to park a ways away and walk to the restaurant, but that just gave us more opportunity to see the town. Our initial impression was that Moab was a charming, touristy, rugged little town with good food and fun shopping!
By the time we made it back to our suite, we were all tuckered out and ready for bed! We had big plans for the next day, so we were ready to be well rested to take them on.
No comments:
Post a Comment