Mesa Verde National Park

The next stop on our journey was in Cortez, Colorado and on the Mesa Verde National Park. There was more snow and ice overnight. We arrived at the visitors center at the gate and were told that most of the roads were closed and might not open that day. We were pretty determined to see this part, so we headed for the entry, to find out the road conditions. We were able to go through with all weather tires, so we made the slow trek to the Spruce Tree House. There was a lot of snow and ice, but the roads were passable with a little winter driving experience.

All of the trees and bushes were covered with snow and frost on all sides like they had been dipped in a snow cloud. It was beautiful, and the day was clear and blue.

We made it to the next visitor's center and had to wait a few minutes for the trail to the Spruce Tree House to open. It was a short paved hike, but the park rangers apparently like to be very cautious about allowing people near the caves. It was amazing to get our first view of the dwellings.

The boys loved this hike and found plenty of places to climb in and also knock snow on each other.

We were able to climb down into a keva. Gavin and Henry went down several times.

We weren't allowed to go inside the dwelling, but it was cool to get close to them and try to imagine what life must have been like there.

A park ranger on this trail told us that Mesa Verde gets about 18 inches of total precipitation a year, and they had gotten 3 inches of snow the year before. Just our luck. It was nice that there wasn't much of a crowd and we got some beautiful pictures.

After the Spruce Treehouse, we had to wait a while longer for the Mesa View Loop road to open, so the boys spent some time throwing snowball and building snowmen. Finn was loving it.

There was so much to see on the Mesa View Loop, it was pretty amazing to see these structures just pop out of the side of the cliff.

We really enjoyed this stop and can't wait to go back in better weather and take our boys to climb into some of the dwellings when they are all old enough to avoid falling off the cliffs.

Arches NP- Day 2

Our second day at Arches was full of more snow and also quite a bit of fog. 

We decided to be a little better prepared and went to a store in Moab to find snow boots. We were able to find then for Henry and Wyatt and ended up getting some thick socks for Gavin and then wrapping his feet in plastic bags before putting his shoes on. It was pretty old school, but it kept his feet dry and warm. 

We hiked park of the double arch trail first. It was very wet and pretty slippery.

Finn liked getting into the narrow spots on the trail and yelling out to hear his voice echo.

A family shot at the Landscape Arch.

The Fiery Furnace was looking pretty cold.

Even though we were pretty warn out after the double arch hike, we decided to take our chances and try and get to Delicate Arch. The view point road was closed because it was washed out, and the last time Caleb and I were in Arches, the entire road was washed out, so hiking wasn't even an option. The boys were real troopers and did well on the hike. It also helped that there was less snow and almost no wind on this hike, so we were able to stay warm.

Taking a little break on the climb up the big rock.

Finally, we made it to the top! It was pretty amazing.

Henry was pretty afraid of heights when we got up there and refused to move from his spot on the rock.

We were all glad that we made the hike, and then we went on to Cortez, Colorado for our next stop.

First Stop- Moab- Arches National Park- Day 1

For Thanksgiving Break we decided to make a trip to Albuquerque and to stop at a few of the wonderful sites along the way. Our plan was to spend the first afternoon in Goblin Valley and then head on to Moab. That plan slowly deteriorated as we arrive at Interstate 70 to a lot of falling snow. We drove toward Goblin Valley on a partly snow covered road and realize after 20 of the 35 miles that we would have to turn around when we hit to completely snow covered roads. So onward we went to Arches National Park.

We saw some red rock in conditions that very few people witness, and probably for good reasons. We were equipped for hiking and wandering in the cold, but not for quite this much wet. We decided to talk the short walk to Double Arch.

These happy group shots were before the many fiascos that ended this short hike with multiple people soaking wet and in big trouble. It was pretty, and it was an adventure. It also put an end to our first day at Arches and we headed to our motel to warm up and dry off.

Finn was probably the driest person of all after that hike. 

We did take a short drive along the Colorado River and saw some very beautiful scenery.

A couple of funny moments in Moab happened when we arrived at the motel. It was a small local place and when Gavin walked in first he turned to Henry and said, "I guess you walk right into the bedroom." We then had to explain that the bedroom was the only room and that was how a hotel worked. I decided that my kids have been too spoiled by all of their family and friend trip that involve cabins and condos and vacation homes that can hold a big group. They weren't sure quite what to do with a small hotel room, which was made an even bigger adventure when Gavin started throwing up at midnight. 

Leaves?

So, I don't actually have a single tree in my yard, front or back. This is something that my boys complained a lot about when we moved into this house. We do intend to play a tree or two, but haven't gotten around to it. Despite this fact, I somehow end up with an unreal number of leaves in my yard. In the back, the pile was as tall as Wyatt. Caleb and the boys cleaned most of it up, and I thought we were done with leaves. A few days later we had a big wind storm and the next morning, I found the entire front yard covered in leaves. The boys love the leaves so much more than I do.

I even got some help cleaning them all up, and it is a good thing, because it looked like this a few days later.