[Pagosa Springs / Cortez, CO, Sep 4, 2023]

And just like that, the wedding weekend was over and it was time to continue on. For today, our only task was to make the 7.5-hr drive from Nederland to Mesa Verde National Park.

I was so excited to finally visit this park! I had tried to tack it on to previous trips, but somehow I could not squeeze it in. Olivia and I got close in 2017. We started in Zion, then did Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley. Mesa Verde is only 2.5 hours from Monument Valley, but because of the time of year, I decided to continue south on that trip and visit Petrified Forest National Park before flying out of Phoenix.

And then last year, on our Colorado trip, we were again only a couple of hours away when we were at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. But that trip was already 8 days long and I just couldn’t add it in. I didn’t know I was going to be back so soon, and I was thrilled!

The drive was long but the landscape changed dramatically from the rocky and leafy mountains to more desert-like. We stopped for lunch in Leadville, which was on our scenic drive from Aspen to Vail last year. It is he highest incorporated community in the US at just over 10,000 ft.

By late afternoon we were in Pagosa Springs. This scenic little town in the foothills of the San Juan mountains is known for its hot springs. We didn’t have time to soak but we did check out Overlook Hot Springs spa, which had an awesome rooftop hot tub. You know me and hot tubs…

We stopped for dinner at a Mexican place, which overlooked what seemed like the biggest hot springs resort in town, aptly named The Springs Resort.

We wanted to gas up right before we entered the park, but the gas station just outside the park entrance looked like the ones in horror movies. It was supposed to be a Sinclair station, one of those with the green dinosaur as its mascot. But it was just two pumps and no store. There were a couple of small buildings next to it, which looked like offices. They were both closed, and our credit cards did not work at the pumps. Luckily, we still had half a tank of gas and we were staying in the park, so we weren’t going to drive a lot the next day.

We finally made it to Mesa Verde just before sunset. We checked into the park lodge and took a sunset walk to stretch out our legs after the long drive. I might have to add Mesa Verde’s Far View Lodge to my list of national park lodges worth the splurge.

The lodge had on onsite restaurant and lounge, which we very much needed after our long drive!

The big patio from the second-floor lounge had amazing views. That little building on the left is where our room was.

I also encountered a sign that the Wetherhill Mesa area of the park was closed for improvements. I had failed to check the park website closer to the trip, so this was news to me. This freed up a full day for us, but I was sure we were going to find something to do in the area. But first, we had a full day of cave dwelling tours coming up.