We hit the road...

We hit the road on May 28th and I can honestly say it was one of the best parenting experiences I have yet to live.

I worried a lot! I was very confident in my ability to do this initially even though I would be solo with two kids. A lot of other women worried, so much so I thought, "Maybe, I am crazy?"

Day one was a lot of driving, we left our home in Boulder County and drove to Cortez, CO where we would spend the next few days camping. It wound up running around nine hours when all was said and done. On the way we stopped at a few spots along rivers and waterfalls to shake our sillies out but we were tear free and excited. At this point I had wished we were not so structured.

Has anyone bothered to put a tent up in a desert wind and sandstorm? It hurts! An RV would have been nice in that hour! The only thing missing was a tumbleweed. We camped at Hovenweep National Monument in "Cortez," which happens to be around an hour from the city considering it is located in Utah. The drive to the monument is gorgeous with fields of red clay crop irrigation and cattle grazing the fields.

*** A small note: Cows in the SW do not smell nearly as bad as Nebraska and Michigan cows. I wonder if it is the diet of the animals or the amount of cattle per acre? Large green pastures vs. small fenced in "pens?" This is something I may look into if I'm ever bored and able to sit still long enough to do so.

The two mile loop at Hovenweep was so easy a two year old could do it... (my two year old) We apparently started this hike around six in the morning courtesy of the sun and my cell phone being dead.

A sunny morning for a hike.

Hovenweep captured Athena's attention. She was caught playing archeologist by an archeologist who told me she was doing the same thing as a child. She was digging up bones of the Mayan people (AKA sticks) and evaluating what the bones could tell us about the people who once roamed these great, "Mayan ruins."

From there we visited the Anasazi Heritage Center in Cortez and the Aztec Ruins National Monument in New Mexico. The AHC was no disappointment. It connected how the paleolithic people adapted to life as farmers over time. A lovely retired couple volunteering at the center suggested we make the trip to NM to visit the Aztec Ruins where their son works as a ranger. It helped expand the idea that the pueblos were not only used by the Ancestral people but other tribes, like the Aztec and as many as 14 tribes trace their origins back to the area of the cliff dwellings. It also established the idea of trade routes.

Our next stop for exploration was Mesa Verde National Park!

A note from Athena:

We went camping. It was lots of fun and we tog to play. We went for walks and explored. I likep Hovenweep but I really likeb going to New Mexico and learning about Aztec people. We leaned that they traded stuff from South America. I want to go live there. Mom says later because dad has to work.