about 8:15 and headed East on US 163, then onto US 191, US 162, CO 41 and finally US 160 East. The trip was short, only 126 miles through very scenic territory. We arrived at Cortez, CO just after noon and were set up on a totally gravel site, but the view was quite nice. 
We spent the afternoon cleaning the outside of the coach, the car and the bike to rid ourselves of the red sand and dust from Monument Valley. We also hit the WalMart Super Center to resupply. Then we found the local pub and watched the Sunday football games. 
Without "local channels" we couldn't watch them on DirecTV in our coach - but that's another story!Monday morning we finished up some work then headed up to Mesa Verde for our afternoon tour of the most impressive and largest cliff dwelling sites on the planet. The trip from Cortez (at 6,200 feet) is 8 miles on US 160, then 25 miles South up onto the mesa. At its highest point, the road reaches over 8,000 feet and the view of the surrounding territory is spectacular. The cliff dwellings are at 7,000 feet.
We ate lunch at the Far View Visitors Center. I had a Navajo Taco, and it was enough for the entire day! Probably would have fed both Suz and I! Our tour departed at 1:00 on a bus with 20 other folks and Clyde, a Navajo Guide. We started by visiting the sites of the earliest Ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi). The natives prefer that we call the ancients Ancestral Puebloans since we do not know how to pronounce Anasazi - although our guide Clyde gently instructed us in the language and how to say words properly.
The first sites were Pit Houses, excavations with timber and clay roofs. 
The earliest such house dates back 1400 years when the first agriculture began in the area. The ancients had lived in the area much longer as nomadic hunter/gatherers but had not established physical dwellings. The ancients believed that they emerged from deep within the earth, and the pit had great religious significance. Even after the residences moved above ground, there was always at least one pit or "Kiva" where it is thought religious ceremonies were held.
Later, the homes emerged from the ground with clay and sandstone brick walls and timber and clay roofs, much like the current Hogans of the Navajo. Later still, the ancients developed refined masonry skills and built elaborate multi-story dwellings – all on top of the mesas.
Archeologists cannot explain what caused the people to abandon the mesas and begin building residences in the many alcoves in the cliffs below the mesa.
Some say it was to free up agricultural land, others say for protection from the elements or enemies, but no on really knows. Nonetheless, the first cliff dwellings in the area, and there are many, date back to around the year 1150. The cliff dwelling period lasted about 100 or so years, and then the people vanished, abandoning their homes.
Speculation has it that the drought in the late 1200s drove the people away. Others say it was disease, or deforestation, or depletion of the soil making it unfit for agricultural use. Whatever, by 1300 or so, Mesa Verde was uninhabited. Clyde the Guide speculates that the people simply moved on and assimilated into tribes to the South and West.
The highlight of our tour was the descent to the Cliff Palace, 
the largest and most elaborate of all the cliff dwellings 
with upward of 150 rooms and many Kivas. 
Suz had great trepidations
about making the descent down and up ladders and narrow, steep stone staircases, but with some prodding, she made the trip
– and was very glad she did (her legs were sore the next day though).
It is awe inspiring to be among the dwellings, and the guides description of the lives of the ancients added greatly to our enjoyment. 
If you visit Mesa Verde, be sure to take a guided tour. It is well worth the money!
On Tuesday, Suz and I headed South and West to visit the “Four Corners.” It is a bit of a tourist trap, in that it costs $3 per person to get in and the site is surrounded by native crafts sellers (yes, we bought some – as we did in Monument Valley). With the mandatory pictures taken
– our toes in New Mexico and Arizona and our heels in Colorado and Utah
– we headed back to the coach where a thorough inside cleaning job awaited. Laundry, vacuuming, washing to the floor and dusting (the red dust from Monument Valley again!). Then it was off to our local pub for our final happy hour with the locals.
Today, we departed Cortez on our way to Albuquerque (Bernalillo actually), where we are having dinner with my cousin Susan Siebert. We arrived at the KOA Bernalillo at 1:00 and got setup. 
Then it was Blog time and that is what I have been doing for the past hour or so. Tomorrow we head for Fabens, TX and a steak house that is said to be the best. We hope to camp in the restaurants parking lot, then head out for San Antonio on Thursday morning. Until then, Cheers!
As an aside, I should mention that we have had the greatest good luck with the weather so far. Out of the three-and-a-half months, we have had no more than 7 days with rain, and most of those were at night. The rest of the time has been sun and brilliant blue skies.
John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog
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