"It is a giant hole in the ground."

We stopped for gas on the way into the Grand Canyon and while Athena was washing the windshields  a man in an RV next to us struck up a conversation that will forever be engraved in my memory. 

Him: Are you going to see the GC? 

Athena: Yeah, I'm REALLY excited! (Note: Her pallor did not match her enthusiasm.) 

Him: I'm excited! Can you believe I am 68 years old and have never been to the GC? 

Athena: Yeah. 

Him: I wanted to see it before we got to the park. 

Athena: Ummm... it is a.... can-yon. 

Him: I know I wonder when we will see it? 

Athena: You can't see it because it is a GIANT HOLE in the ground. 

Schooled by a six year old! I will never forget his face. 

We enjoyed hiking and camping at the GC, we explored the museums and visitors centers. Overall, a great experience but we needed less than five days at the park because it is a giant hole in the ground;)

Athena wanted to see the IMAX movie so she spent the money she earned on the trip to take us to the movies. (Well she paid for me, me because they let her in for free. SCORE!) 

I would rate the Grand Canyon a 5 out of 10. Maybe Mesa Verde set the bar high but the rangers were not as cool, interactive and they seemingly had little interest in teaching... and this trip was about learning through exploration. The 5 rating is based on the educational opportunities and hiking. 

We spent a night in Flagstaff... and rather than contacting ME when there was no activity at our campground, Xanterra or the rangers called Jay to find out if he had heard from us? I absolutely had cell phone service so it was frustrating when I received no call.

Gas prices were $4.79... I get it, an hour and a half from Flagstaff. 

But 40 minutes away and between the two geographical points, gas was a dollar cheaper. 

Added in after Yellowstone: It's a tourist place, no? Well, yeah. But Yellowstone was the same cost as the surrounding towns (or cheaper) and just as remote. 

Random passing by male: "Ma'am you might want to watch your kids."
Me: "They will be fine."
Him: Eye roll.

I learned at this point on the trip trusting your children is basically code for, "You are a horrible parent." 

She just might be my favorite six year old.

Athena: I like Flagstaff. I want to come back. I love the Grand canyon because it teaches us a lot about the earth and evolution. All of the different colors are formed at different times in history. All of them have different species. The movie was cool. I want to raft the canyon!

Adventures of Food Poisoning

The girls wound up with a nice case of food poisoning while we were in the desert. 

My best advice to any human traveling in the desert of Arizona is to not eat a Subway salad... You are probably better off with a cup of Ramen Noodles. 

It was fun... 

While debating if we would head to our next campground or a hotel we decided to hit up Bearizona. It was something I knew Lex would enjoy and something that we could do in the car. We chose to stay in the car and not get out and explore the walking portion of the zoo. TBH, I'm not sure Athena could have walked around.

Lex loved this attraction even though she was dying.

Athena: I was sick. I don't remember much and had to sleep. Sissy had fun. Kayla still made us go camping but it was okay because we were done being sick after getting new tires. 

Petrified Forest National Park

Stop number two on our trip was Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. We were supposed to spend two days learning at the park but opted to spend one of those days exploring the cable channels our hotel offered;) When we arrived I asked how long it took most people to move through and was given the answer of 2-4 hours. YAY! Our cable laziness did not impact our learning! We took eight hours because of hiking and Athena's newfound interest in petrified wood and learning, "ALL of the things." While I was excited for her to learn, I must admit geology is her interest, not mine but I did enjoy hiking with each of the girls. 

There were petroglyphs, kiva foundations and gorgeous views but mainly it is a drive through park. We started the Jr. Ranger book and completed all but two pages, including the pages geared at older kids, more than we needed to complete for a six year old. When we went to the museum to turn in her book the ranger made us do the two last pages (which were based on the museum and fossils.) I was down to my last diaper, literally the one on Lex's butt and needed to drive to Holbrook, 30 minutes away to get diapers. I was not amused. Athena dealt with it like a champ and Lex was a trooper, thanks to being mostly potty trained.

The best experience we had on this leg of the trip was talking to the archeologists and geologists who were staying at our hotel. They were uncovering a few kivas and sites prior to a road going in. One of the archeologists was Native American and not thrilled with the home of her ancestors being demolished for progress. She was very kind and Athena liked her very much, she invited us to their dig site as a field trip. We were excited. That night the girls wound up with food poisoning so we had to miss. Athena was heartbroken.

PFNP is a decent park and a great way to break up a longer drive but I would not go out of my way to travel to this park unless you have an intense interest in petrification. I would rate it a 6/10. Athena rates it as a 9 out of 10... 

We spent the morning hiking and had a blast doing so! 

We were learning about minerals and various things which created the color changes in the layers. I will be honest, Athena could easily tell me some of this and I'm over here typing having no clue what any of it means. 

Petrified wood! Yeah, we learned about silica, water and wood over time the minerals crystalize within the wood... Or something like that... I can appreciate the beauty and hikes but I'm not a fan of the science behind petrification. 

Toddler was pretty hungry at this point. 

Exploring in the dirt... Welcome to childhood. 

PFNP may have gained five kid points with climbing on logs alone. 

Athena: They have NO dinosaurs. They have reptiles and amphibians and protomammals but NO dinosaurs. I like learning about the wood. It needs ash from volcanoes and water to become petrified. The water has minerals. My mom would not buy me a book on the wood. She told me to save my money for it and to order on Amazon. 

Mesa Verde National Park

We spent a great deal of time this year learning about the ancestral Pueblo people, aka the Anasazi. We read books, watched documentaries but with Mesa Verde "close" I wanted to bring the experience to life.

Day three was spent hiking, relaxing at the rec center and getting a feel for MVNP.

We were told in e-mail and at the time of ticket purchase that Cliff House and Balcony House may not be the best suited tours for a toddler. It left me with a few choices:

A. I could go on the tour and risk needing to turn back, knowing Athena would not be happy with this decision.

B. We could skip the tour and miss out on an experience I knew Athena had been looking forward to or

C. I could barter with Athena to come back with Jay on a longer weekend.

None of these seemed like great options but I chose option A. As a parent it has always been difficult for me to accept I can't do something and I don't like allowing my kids to get in the way of living each others lives. I had the Ergo so I bought the tickets and decided to try.

We started with the Cliff Palace tour which is the "easier" of the two "hikes." Lex wanted to walk so I went with it. She hiked the entire way. Lindsay, our guide and archeologist, said she was the first toddler he has had hike the tour. He was informative and inclusive to the youngest tour participant, Athena. He asked her to lead the group and she did. Athena takes her Jr. Ranger duties seriously;) He was great at answering her questions. It seems rare that guides have the ability to customize a tour experience for all participants. We were happy to have stumbled into his group.

Some adults are seemingly surprised children are capable of walking. At least I discovered some of the adults on the tour were impressed by their walking skills;)

The following morning we did a tour of Balcony House. The ranger, Eric, invited Athena to help him lead the hike. This hike was definitely not recommended for toddlers, alas Lex did this again and I have an ergo if I needed it;) At the start of the climb into the dwelling there is a 32 ft ladder which was exciting to Lex... At first. Being two she has missed the "do not look down memo." She asked to be put on my back but I told her no and said, "You are strong enough to do this, you are smart and know how to do this and you are brave. It is your turn to be brave. You can do this and I will do it with you. We can do the hard things together." She breezed up with no issue following. 

Most of the people on the tour thought I was crazy for doing this with two small kids alone but all seemed genuinely surprised the girls did so well and were so respectful.

Following the tour we decided to explore the Spruce Tree House which has a recreated kiva a person can explore, a mano and matate to teach how the people would grind corn and rangers to interact and educate the people in the area.

Lex was asleep on my back from a long morning of hiking so I could not go into the kiva (BOO!) and I was a little nervous about letting Athena go down without me. I trust her but I'm not always sure if rangers appreciate that trust and a few rangers were nearby. Also, while my child is generally respectful of historical sites, you never know... A sweet German woman heard us discussing this and offered to take Athena into the kiva (and take pictures.) She was kind and I was thankful for them to reach out. Athena is now insisting on learning German:)

Spruce Tree House! 

Inside the recreated Kiva

Mano and metate

A ranger specifically pulled Athena aside to teach her about where the food was prepared. This ranger was amazing. 

Where the ancestral people would have cooked their meals. 

Overall, I would rate our experience in the Cortez area as a 9 out of 10. The park rangers at MVNP are AMAZING with children. Many times while we were exploring the rangers would approach us, interact with the girls and take the time to teach. We have visited twelve national parks this year from Rocky to the Grand Canyon to Yellowstone and the Mesa Verde Rangers win the award for the BEST RANGERS. We are absolutely recommending Mesa Verde to our friends!

A note from Athena: I really like Ranger Lindsay! He is an archeologist and knows a lot about the stuff. He discovered a new cliff dwelling and said that if you throw a rock and look for it you will find an artifact before you found the rock. We tried it and found pottery and I never found the rock. I found lots of lizards too! But you can't touch them and you can't take the pottery and that makes me sad. I want to come here again this year. It is a good field trip.