Location: S & Kids: Colorado, Mesa Verde National Park, Morefield Campground: we had traded in one of the few full hook up sites they have for a tent site without water or electricity. The bathrooms were close though and the showers a short drive away. Craig: LA, California
Mileage: Surpassed 7777 miles.
Jr. Ranger Badge #7: Mesa Verde National Park
Audio Book: Finished The Life of Jesus
Morning came quicker than expected since I didn't even wake up or dream about bears. Most of us went to the All You Can Eat Pancake Breakfast offered by the campground. We ordered the family breakfast and were treated to as much food as we could eat even though traditionally it only included 8 pancakes and 8 sausages. The woman who was grilling quickly realized that was not all you can eat for our family so she just kept putting more on the griddle. We were no longer hungry when we left.
We had to drive the 10 miles back to the visitors center for the kids to be sworn in as Jr Rangers at Mesa Verde. This is one of the few programs that did not require they bring in a bag of trash, but they did have to promise to pick up trash.
***Driving the San Juan Skyway
I had saved an article from the Family Fun magazine (June/July '96) with an itinerary for a road trip on the San Juan Skyway. They describe a two day itinerary on this drive which is considered one of the most beautiful drives in America. We reduced the itinerary to the one day we had. Our first stop was Durango Mountain Resort. All but Anna took the nearly 3 mile ride down the Alpine Slide. We all raced down but Leah who got a bit stuck and had to be rescued by a friendly worker who said, "Honey, I'm going to give you a little push." He came behind her with an empty cart in between them and pushed her down the mountain. She still thought it was great fun. We all wished we had more time and money to spend at this little resort. Given more time we could have mountain biked down the mountain, bungee bounced, played mini golf, hiked and ridden the slide a few more times. We definitely added it to a place to come back to.
***L getting her boost down the mountain.
We couldn't pass Coal Bank Pass Summit (elevation 10,660 ft) without getting out and playing in the snow! There were still patches of deep snow here and there on the ground. Enough to run through, dig in, make snowballs out of, even sled in and of course to photograph.These GA kids are so deprived of snow they had to be called many times to come back to the car so we could get onto our tour.
***Kids at pass
***Improvising with a table cloth sled.
We hurried to get to Silverton by 4 p.m. I had read of the tour of Old 100 Gold Mine in several of my books. It is unique in that the tours are led by a retired miners. This turned out to be a highlight of the trip. Several of the kids said later, "I'm going to bring my kids back there." Miner Ken, a gentle and kind tour guide, (the best tour guide ever according to N) started the tour by quoting Mark Twain who said, "A mine is just a big hole you sink money into." After telling us the history of the mine (briefly so as not to bore us with the dates and such) he loaded us up on an old mining car and brought us down into the mine. The reason for wearing rain gear and hard hats became apparent as we were showered with water dripping from the ceiling of the mine as we descended. Once inside we walked through the tunnels (or drifts as Ken called them). We saw how to spot a vein that gold would be found in and we learned about all the equipment (and hazards) of the mine as Ken told us colorful stories of personal experiences and Tommi-knockers. L even got to be the blast master, yelling "Fire in the Hole" and setting off a wall of dynamite (pretend, of course). Once we left the mine Ken presented Leah with some gifts for helping. When he gave her the ruler he said, "That's so you can be smart and not have to be a miner in Colorado."
***Blastmaster
Once out of the mine, Ken patiently taught us how to pan for gold and silver in the sluice box and then said, "You are welcome to stay till the sun sets." The miners locked up and took off while the kids stuck their hand in the frigid water , began to intently sift their dirt and searched for small shiny objects. Once several found (mostly) silver the excitement level grew. They said, "This is SO fun because you actually find stuff!" We had to pull them away an hour later so we could find dinner in the nearby town.
*** Miner Ken teaches D how to pan for silver and gold.
We hunted for the Bent Elbow, a restaurant and hotel recommended in the Family Fun article, and found it on a street that could be the set for an old western. The dirt street was wide and lined with old buildings from the early 1900's. We read that they have reenactments of gun fights on the weekends. The Bent Elbow was built in 1907 as a saloon and has a colorful history in the wild rowdy town during the gold mining days. As I was changing A, L marched right into the place and sat down at the bar. She began telling an interested bar tender the stories of our travels. Soon we were all sitting down at a long table and enjoying looking at all the interesting antiques that are everywhere around the large dining room. After enjoying a tasty meal we walked the streets taking photos and poking into the little tourist shops.
***Silverton, CO
Realizing we still had a journey ahead of us going back to Moab we got back into the car. I don't know if I had been told what it is like to go over Red Mountain Pass (elevation 11,074 ft) that we would have taken that route. I had little time to take in the beauty of the mountains or the many rushing waterfalls as I gripped the steering wheel and tried not to think about going over the steep cliff edges. They had just painted the white lines on the edge of the road that were right on the edge of the drop offs. In one place the line went over an area that had been eroded away. The kids kept saying, "Mom, look at ...." I knew if I did we'd veer just a bit too far. So I spent most of the time in the middle of the road, not looking over the edge and hoping we'd make it.
We did make it. We spotted ground hogs, mule deer and a herd of grazing elks as we made our way back over the line into Utah. It was 11:30 p.m. by the time we got "home."
***Sleep