Mesa Verde, Four Corners, and Hovenweep

I wrote this post on monday but didn't have time to upload pictures till now....

This weekend I went down to southern Utah with Dave. We originally wanted to do a 3 mile hike in monument valley but we left late so decided to forgo the extra 2 hour drive just for a 3 mile hike. Instead, we got to Moab around 4pm Friday and decided to do a 2 mile hike to Corona Arch. Dave had never been and since it was a relatively easy hike, we both had a lot of fun. 

Our ultimate destination was Mesa Verde so we drove further south and camped right outside the park at a KOA in cortez. I have never booked a KOA before (though I think I stayed at one with my parents). The campground was very nice and clean and the options ranged from full sized cabins to camping spots (with electricity and water!). We opted just to camp but seeing the Teepees made me think that next time, we can try something different. Dave got the campfire going while I set up camp but since it was already 8 and the sun had set, I was freezing! Turns out, Dave got long burning wood. The advantage is that we only need one bundle per night but the disadvantage is that they take forever to catch fire. After fumbling for 20-30min, the fire was finally up and I was able to get warm.

Because I worked late the night before, Dave had packed everything for this trip. To my surprise, he made hobo dinners….they are delicious and probably my favorite campfire food. In it, he put beef, potatoes, red pepper, and onion. I was too hungry and cold to take a picture but it really hit the spot! For dessert, Dave tried a new idea he saw online. Instead of the traditional smore, he put marshmallows and chocolate inside and ice cream cone and wrapped it in aluminum foil. The fire warms up the foil and melts the marshmallows/chocolate so you get this gooey dessert without the mess. I rather liked it but it was hard not burning the outside of the ice cream cone.

The next morning, we got up fairly early, had some pop tarts for breakfast and headed straight to Mesa Verde. For some reason, I thought the park would take us a whole day to explore but Cliff palace and balcony house were closed so we just hiked to Spruce tree house (0.5mile hike) and then we were done. It was actually a bit disappointing but we decided to visit the four corners since we had so much time.

Did you know you have to pay $5 per person to see the four corners? It was kindof ridiculous! I know it is on tribal land and one of the few ways they can make money but really!....it should at least be $5 per car. We didn’t stay long because there really wasn’t too much to see. We watched some people take pictures (most with their limps in the four different states) and then I took a picture (back-arch style). Dave refused to take a picture and that was that.

On the way back to cortez, Dave and I took a slight detour to Hovenweep national monument. It was actually pretty cool. There are all these historic pueblo buildings lining a cliff and you can hike 2 miles to see them. I took lots of pictures. Unfortunately, we were done by 3pm and so we got back to cortez around 4 with absolutely nothing to do. Dave and I ended up getting dairy queen shakes then we weren’t even hungry anymore. We eventually migrated back to our camp site and found the game room there were we played dominos, cards, and phase10. All in all a good trip but WAY less hiking then I thought. Guess I’ll have to get my exercise elsewhere.

The one disappointing news from this weekend is that I got my Nature Communication paper back and it was rejected. After 4 weeks of review, this was VERY disappointing, I am not sure yet what we are going to do but all well…such is research.