Day Seven, Colorado is heaven(ly)

Our final day in Colorado. We headed south to Silverton and on the way the temperature started to drop. Yes that says 44 degrees. As we were driving it started sleeting and then it turned to rain. We had it off and on while we were in Silverton.

This is a view of the main street in Silverton. After lunch we continued to head south to Mesa Verde. This would be our last stop in Colorado.
Here is a view of some of the cliff dwellings. There are several locations throughout the park that you can visit. We started at the Spruce Tree House. Up on top of the cliff is where they would plant and harvest crops. They would have to climb up and down carrying baskets of food. There was a steep hike down to the dwellings. Since it was paved we decided to take the Gopher in his chair.
It might have been easier in the backpack.
The dwellings were very well preserved. Once down at the dwellings they had a kiva that you could go in. The Goose and Bear really enjoyed going up and down the ladder.

Here is a picture inside the kiva. These were used for ceremonial gatherings. Each family group had their own kiva. The Goose and Bear had their own ceremonial meeting inside.
Up on top they had the stones where the ladies would grind corn. They had several together so that they could talk together while they worked. Inside the museum they had dioramas displaying how life at the cliff dwellings would be. The Bear teased the Goose that she would have to be naked (because the children in the dioramas were). She didn't like that idea and said that if she lived back then she would want clothes to wear.

The second site that we visited was above ground and the girls got to go inside the different dwellings. They really enjoyed playing in the different rooms and going in and out the little doors.

Well that's it for Colorado. We had a great time visiting the different National Parks as well as the Denver zoo and seeing the mountains. I think we will all miss the cooler weather. The video below is of the Gopher. The last day we drove from Mesa Verde to Albuquerque for our last night. We didn't arrive at our hotel until 12:30am. I think we were all a little delirious, but the Gopher would not stop laughing. So here is a little sample.




We finally made it home after 64 hours and 45 minutes in the car (yes that is actual driving/riding in the car time) and 3106 miles. I don't think the Gopher will want to be strapped into a carseat for a long time.