We visited Mesa Verde National Park. It was amazing. We hiked to see the Cliff Palace area. It was cool to see such old historical buildings in America. We chose the easy hike, but it was still a bit of a challenge, with narrow, steep steps and ladders.
We also had a picnic while we were there. We were having cheese and crackers. The end of the cheese had turned a funny color, so I sliced it off and set it aside. A blue bird came, and Dane threw it some crackers. I put out a piece of cheese and was surprised the bird took it. Before we left, we put out all of our cracker crumbs and the two remaining pieces of cheese on a rock. That bird immediately flew down and scooped up both pieces of cheese in one swoop and mouthful. AI says it is okay as an occasional high-energy treat for wild birds.
When we left the park, we drove east to South Fork, CO, which is about an hour away from Great Sand Dunes National Park. A lot of rain is headed to southwest Colorado, and we are trying to beat it and move eastward. They’ve been in a drought for years, so they need the rain. I bet they wish it wouldn’t all come at once. I keep thinking about the damage Hurricane Helene caused in East TN and NC, and I realize it can still have serious repercussions far inland. Maybe we can see our last National Park for this trip before the rain makes it there.
We crossed the Continental Divide at Wolf Creek Pass and got a photo. I was almost certain that I crossed it on a bicycle at that same place and had a photo with my bicycle there. So I dug through photos and found one. I cannot believe the mountain passes that I rode back in 2014. I put that old photo beside the one from today for fun. It was a beautiful drive going up and over that pass. But we did not have time to make lots of stops for pictures. Also, the light was dull and gray. You can’t capture the beauty adequately in good light, let alone dull gray light.
We are staying in another little cabin. Dane loves it! I took a few photos. We ate at a local pizza joint. We split a salad, wings, and a small pizza. We ate every bite. It was delicious. The TVs were tuned to the Broncos-Rams game. While we were there, Denver wasn’t doing well.
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