In order to get to our next destination, the Elks Lodge in Cortez, Colorado, we backtracked through Page, stopping at the Maverick gas station to fill-up with gas and fuel. We had planned to use their dump station, but unfortunately it was closed.

Upon arrival at the Elks, I went in to find out where they wanted us to park. The very friendly and helpful bartender came out and showed us the sites and where we could take on water if needed (we still had some from Jacob Lake). We headed into the Lodge after getting Callie settled, to discover the special dinner was tacos! We’ve never turned down tacos after a long day! Since they also had buffalo wings, we had an order of those too! We sat at the bar and chatted with the bartender, enjoying not having to cook!

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There were plenty of places we could have gone to see while in Cortez, but the main thing I was excited about was Mesa Verde National Park. Knowing we would need two full days, and since we got a late start our first day, we decided to head back and see the Four Corners. We had passed it on the way to Cortez, and to be honest, should have stopped then, but it worked out ok. We took our pictures and then walked around to see the Native American made jewelry and crafts that were available for sale at booths that were set up in a circle around the four corners monument. Deciding on what to purchase was tricky, as some vendors took credit cards and others did not, so we had to spend our cash wisely. If we had even thought about it, we probably would have brought more cash.

Early the next morning, we headed to Mesa Verde, which was only about 10 miles up the road. The Visitor Center had all the information we needed to plan our two days in the park. There are two main roads within the park, so it was easy to divide and conquer. In order to see the cliff dwellings up close, you needed to purchase tickets ($5 per person), so after hearing about the different options and available times, we decided on Cliff Palace, and got tickets for the following day at 11:30am.

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With a plan and a map, we headed into the park. First, we stopped to see the campground. While it was very nice, it offered very few sites, if any, that would accommodate a big rig. Further up, when the road came to a “Y” we went to the right.

When we reached Wetherill Mesa, we started right away on the hike to see Step House, Long House (from the overlook point), and Badger House Community. What an amazing place! By the end of the day, I was even more excited to tour Cliff Palace the next day!

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We were exhausted when we got home and, after freshening up a bit, went into the lodge to have a drink. We ended up ordering some chicken wings and onion rings, which were very good.

The following day, in order to arrive on time for our 11:30am tour, we left the Cortez Elks by 9:50am. I have a thing about being late – I don’t like it! We parked and found the meeting place with about 20 minutes to spare – just the way I like it!

Our ranger guide was very good – he explained how there were more people living in that area back then, over 800 years ago, than there is today. He told us about how they knew there was trading with other areas going on, due to finding things that weren’t made/available in that area. He told us about the Puebloans moving away due to severe drought conditions.

The whole thing was very fascinating! We love to take a look at old National Park lodges, so on the way out of the park, we stopped to check it out. They had a great balcony that had a great view! We decided to have a drink, and split an order of buffalo wings. They were delicious!

We were on our way to our next destination, Alamosa, Colorado, early the next day – that will be in our next post!

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