2009 summer vacation: day three
by HML
More travel photos in the Gimlet Gallery!
We spent the next morning in Moab shopping for souvenirs. We found a delightful quilting shop across the street from our motel (more details are forthcoming on Sinister Craftiness), and a bookstore that would be an excellent resource for local maps. Team Gimlet definitely wants to return to Moab, perhaps on a school break, and spend more time exploring.
After lunch it was time to get back in the car and drive, drive, drive. But wait! A few minutes out of town we were lured to stop by large signage for “Hole N The Rock”, and we remembered it was the location of a penny machine, so of course we had to pull over.
From the home built into the rocks, a carving of FDR, a jeep made of license plates and other odds and ends topped by a giant bone, a mysterious petting zoo (we did not pay to find out what lurked within), and the other miscellaneous oddities rimming the parking lot, we were not disappointed. The penny machine didn’t roll as well as it could on some of the designs but we were able to collect the eponymous souvenir.
Not much further down the road we stopped again to admire the Wilson Arch, an impressive sandstone arch with a walking trail easily accessible from the highway. We could have also pulled off for the drive to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, but our schedule wouldn’t allow for that long of a delay, so we drove on through red rocks and desert thunderstorms.
We made a much-needed rest stop at the visitors’ center in the town of Blanding, and were pleasantly delayed again by the tiny museum at the center showcasing this little community, especially its quilting and embroidery (even an example of Hardanger). At the tourist information counter, the friendly attendant gave us granola bars and suggested a better route to the Four Corners monument than we had originally chosen. The visitors’ center also features Internet access and plenty of cold water, making it a perfect oasis for a drive through southern Utah.
As we were driving to the town grocery store to stock up on water and snacks, we saw a dinosaur museum and curiosity overrode our original plans. This little museum featured many unique models of dinosaurs, but the highlight was an exhibit about the history of dinosaurs in film. Vintage posters from around the world, a brontosaurus model from the 1933 King Kong, and a gallery of dinosaur illustration and animation made this museum a worthwhile visit and a good complement to our museum stop in Price the day before.
Bidding Blanding a fond farewell, we continued through more thunderstorms across the Ute and Navajo reservations until we arrived at the Four Corners Monument.
It wasn’t raining, but it was very hot and very windy. Even so, this little remote spot was busy with tourists lining up to take their turn standing on the marker, and vendors offering frybread, snow cones, and souvenirs. Shiprock wasn’t on our route, but we could easily see it in the distance as we left the monument and began driving through Colorado.
The Gimlet has long wanted to visit Mesa Verde National Park, and since it was on the way we thought it would be an easy visit. We had no idea how big it is! We were unable to do justice to this beautiful park, arriving at the top of the mesa with only minutes before the museum and closest cliff dwelling closed for the evening.
(Like Moses, The Gimlet had to look at Spruce Tree House from the viewpoint, unable to enter.)
The drive through the park is on the edge of a cliff: steep and full of sharp corners. Both Things complained of nausea on the way up, and Thing Two was carsick on the trip down. Nevertheless the scenery was stunning; the mesa is a green hidden valley and the views are incredible.
We continued on through the beautiful Mancos Valley, ate dinner in Durango, then drove through the dark (and more thunderstorms) to Pagosa Springs. Completely exhausted after our long day, we were looking forward to getting to Philmont the next day and just staying in one place for a week.
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Tags: colorado, national parks, penny machines, utah
July 18th, 2009 15:21
That looks amazing! So happy you are having a wonderful vacation. Our 4 things are counting down the days till you come. They have been asking every morning how many more days till you all arrive, so I finally had to show them the calendar and have them count themselves, so now every morning first thing we hear is 5 more days, 4 more days till the cousins come here!
July 18th, 2009 15:38
Checking in from Santa Fe: We got Thing One back from his Philmont mountain trek this morning and both Things are taking a much-needed nap in our air-conditioned motel room. We have lots more stories and pictures to share from Philmont, and a lot more sightseeing to go before we get back to Cache Valley. We are definitely looking forward to our family time!
July 28th, 2009 09:56
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