Sniftly Dancing Off Into The Canyon

(for trip info, refer to yesterday's post)

Yes. Sniftly.

On our bus ride from Silverton to Durango, we had a most colorful Coloradan guide and driver who drove like me, spoke about the scenery and history like my dad (the driver is a history teacher like my father), and has the sense of humor like a nurse! She is to be credited with inventing the word "snifty."

As far as "dancing of into the canyon," the phrase belongs to the National Park Service tour guide at Mesa Verde. Being as that there were no fences or guard rails or walls to prevent people from waltzing off...BUT I DIGRESS!!!!

I HAVEN'T EVEN TOLD YOU ABOUT FRIDAY!

You all have no clue what Mesa Verde is or why I was there or anything. Let me rewind and start at the beginning of Friday.




Friday.

As I have explained previously, my friend and I are very similar in our love of adventures and randomness. It's great to have things planned, but flexibility is key to an exciting trip.

So, with a whole morning on Friday open to whatever, we (mostly Caroline who is more familiar with Colorado) searched for something that would fit into our time frame.

Cue Mesa Verde.




Having heard of the cliff dwelling Native American Indians, I was excited about having the opportunity to view the dwellings...not to mention actually going into one of them!

We woke up super early and headed a little more westward. Part of the excitement of the drive was passing (and turning around to pass again) a brown bear. Which, my sources tell me, is a rare find. I have begun to dispair of ever seeing any wildlife in Colorado after making it out three summers in a row and only catching a glimpse of a coyote (and hearing about the numerous "elk" and "deer" and "antelopes" that abound in Colorado).

This trip could be deemed a success solely on the wildlife I was able to see! Deer, antelope, a bear, a "chipmunk," a marmot, and even some mountain goats (found at the very tippy top of Mount Evans, a fourteener!!!)...

Anyway, even though we only had half a day to see as much as we could at Mesa Verde, Caroline bought tickets to see BOTH the Balcony House and the Cliff Palace. We stopped at the Lodge to pick up some breakfast and hot chocolate before hiking down to the Spruce Tree House.

Which was quite the hike (considering we were in flip-flops...a mistake we remedied for the other two dwellings).


We learned much about the culture of the Indians who built the cliff dwellings in the 1200s. I was able to practice grinding, and we enjoyed climbing three-story tall ladders.

The tour guides were fantastic (even if the one had a bit too many mentions about "community" etc), and we came away with knowledge about the cliff dwellers that made us both appreciate the conveniences of the modern day and also the sacrifices of the people who first settled there.

To our enjoyment, we met several other people in our tour groups and had some interesting discussions about various things (not limited to: Colorado, South Carolina, the Utah Jazz, and living in Germany).

We had to head home by lunch time, and (due to the amazing driving abilities of the nurses present) barely made it to the Garden of the Gods at sunset.

Saturday and Sunday were well-spent days, though I regret I did not take any pictures either day.

Saturday, I was invited to attend a family reunion at the cabin (where I thoroughly enjoyed meeting several of Caroline's extended family). While we were only there for a few short hours, I enjoyed relearning how to use a four-wheeler, meeting Caroline's adorable niece, and fellowshipping with my Colorado family.

That afternoon, Caroline and I headed to a singles' activity at a family friends' house. The plan was to stay long enough to eat some ribs and then head home...several hours later...we enjoyed fellowshipping so much that we ended up staying until well after dark. I was able to make some new friends, play a few games, and just enjoy talking with people around my age that have the same focus in life.

Sunday, I was able to divide my time equally between Caroline's church and her parents'. I enjoyed both services and (again) meeting new people.

Monday and Tuesday were adventures in and of themselves, and I will be sure to post again soon about the last couple days I had in Colorado.

Until then :)