Mesa Verde

I walked out the door of my room to my car parked right outside, and the silence . . . the confident unpretentious quiet of the night . . . It whispered in my ear ‘this is how it is suppose to be.”  I stood listening -- to a full, strong emptiness.

The Lodge at Mesa Verde

I woke up early and was greeted by the fluttering of two mountain blue birds. Then I went to the visitor center at 8:15 to buy my ticket for a ranger guided tour of one of the cliff dwellings.  I was on the first tour of the day before the sun was full force.  I have always been attracted to the Pueblo people and seeing their handiwork in the face of the cliff, I had a misplaced longing to live there.  The view and the daily opportunity for rock climbing, what more could I want?

Long House

I got to climb these ladders!

This little boy is going to grow up to be a good man.  He deferred to me, letting me climb up the ladder before him.  At another time in the trip, he said to his grandfather, “I just made a happy face. I don’t know why I like making happy faces.” And he smiled broadly – my guess he is 8 years old, maybe 9.

After the guided tour, I hiked to a few smaller sites and came upon one of the park’s herds of wild horses. The stallion keep driving off a few unwelcome males and made me a little wary of working my way through the herd to the tram station.  A few other people arrived and the horses parted to let us cross the street.    

Then I headed south to Arizona, making a brief stop in New Mexico.  I feel a bit dishonest saying I have been to New Mexico.  It is what it is.

I will reserve my musings on Arizona for tomorrow (does anyone live here?).

Rocks and Solitude

Today I left my brand new hotel room and drove from Grand Junction, CO to Arches National Park.  Crossing into Utah, the state appeared uninhabited until I arrived at the park visitor center which was teaming with people.

Note the orange and green pillows (Ang and Lexie)

The rock cliffs and formations of the park emanated wisdom and strength – as if they were creatures that had fallen asleep in a different age.  I watched a small bird in a bush calling to a lover or a child; I could not tell which.  And I admired the determined wildflowers growing in the cracks of the rocks.

 

The tourists jostled my solitude – I couldn’t hike out to the arch I wanted to see because there weren’t any parking spaces left.  I hiked to a different vantage point and took this picture.  I feel that Arches is a place to live with for a while.  To go there and frantically snap pictures to capture it and say you were there – just doesn’t work. 

 

Point of information 1:  For all three of these national parks, you have to drive a good 15-30 miles in to the desired site.  So celebration upon arrival is a bit misplaced.

Point of information 2:  Utah is the first state I’ve been to in which cell phone reception has been spotty (extremely).

Point of information 3:  Internet connection is a very relative thing: it has taken over 30 minutes for three photos to be uploaded for this blog.  I am lowering my expectations as I type.  This post may be late as a result.

Point of information 4: Ohio still has the appellate of “the worst roads,” and it looks like it will win the competition by an embarrassing margin. 

After Arches, I decided to forgo Canyon Lands for another time and head on to Mesa Verde.  The drive in to the Lodge and Visitor Center was worth the entrance fee, so I am anticipating seeing the dwellings tomorrow will amaze me.

I am writing from the Mesa Verde Lodge with a view of a valley and blue evening mountains in the distance.  I had a nice conversation with 3 generations of a family from North Carolina.  I think the friendliness of the locals rubs off on us all.  There is still a slight blue glow on the horizon.

He still needs a name and a stitched smile.

This was my favorite view.

This is where I ate dinner.

In the Foothills

When I arrived on Tuesday evening, my dear friend, Fu and I had dinner at an incredible Japanese restaurant.  I ate more sushi than I needed to because it tasted so good – I especially enjoyed the fried shrimp heads (apparently they are a very good source of calcium J).

I let myself sleep in on Wednesday morning – until NOON – which translates to 2:00 EST.  Mmmmm.  I think the 5½ hours a night I have been living on for the past few weeks finally caught up to me.   I spent the rest of the day talking with Charles.  I think one could talk with Charles for weeks on end  -- with breaks for meditation.  Later in the day, he took me to the grocery store to pick up some fruit and then to Fu’s acupuncture office.  Fu loaded me up with herbs and graciously gave me a treatment before we headed home to have dinner with Charles and to reminisce about high school and middle school.

Charles was sweeping the porch when I woke up morning at 7:15.  I drank oolong tea with ginseng in a small ceramic tea mug.  Fu gave me an adorable crocheted baby dragon who has become my sole traveling companion.

After saying my goodbyes, my little civic braved the climb over and down the mountains to Glenwood Canyon.  I kept encouraging it that it was all my stuff holding it back as it pitifully accelerated up the grate.  I was hoping to arrive in Glenwood in time to go horseback riding – I arrived too late, fortunately, and they recommended a local ranch 15 miles away.  The unpaved road to the Porter Ranch winded before me until I came to this little sign.

I turned up the lane and found only the horses waiting for me.  After some nice conversation with them, a couple with a very happy terrier drove up.  I have never seen a happier dog in all my life.  How could he not be happy when he lives in this paradise?  

With a friendliness I have rarely enountered on the East coast, the couple introduced themselves to me. And I was taken on a private horse ride in the ranch with Mary as my guide.  These were not tail to head trail horses, but sweet rescues – mine was called Braveheart.  I got a brief lesson and then we set out.  My horse spooked when a mule deer darted out of the brush – and gratefully I held my seat – and later, when he bolted down the hill, I stayed on his back. 

This is Ace; we became friends though I didn't ride him

There were wildflowers all along the way and transporting views of the foothills.  The homesteader on the ranch 3 generations back put in a reservoir and an irrigation system powered by gravity so that the land is green all year round. The ranch also has the largest herd of domestic elk in Colorado.  At dinner, I enjoyed the elk at local restaurant – very good!

All the other tables had begonias.  My table, by the the window, had an orchid.

For Dacia

The landscape changed several times throughout the day. I missed a few photos of the diverse rock formations.

I am writing from a BRAND NEW Spring Hill Suite.  This is the second day it has been open (thank you, Patrick).

If you are ever in Colorado, check out Porter Ranch.