Bike Ride through Zion NP

We stayed at Orderville/Mt Carmel UT for about a week.  During that time we managed to drive over to Zion National Park at least five times.  The second time we went to Zion, we planned on being their by 8:30 or so.  Pam was going to hike a trail along the river near the Visitor Center and I was going on a bike ride from the Visitor Center to the Temple of Sinawava.

Though the map doesn't show it very well, this could have been one of my most scenic rides ever!

This map is one we picked up at the Visitor's Center. There are no cars allowed during the summer past the Zion Lodge.

The park map does a better job of showing the route and observations points along the way.

Pam dropped me off at the "Zion Human History Museum" where I began my ride.

Then she went on down to the Visitor's Center and did a hike along Virgin River.  While she was doing that I started my uphill ride through the Canyon toward Temple of Sinewava turn around point.

The beauty was all around.  The incline was moderate as I made my way past the Court of the Patriarchs, Zion Lodge and the Grotto.

I was a little surprised it only took a little over 40 minutes for me to make my way up to the turn around point near the shuttle bus stop.  From here some people wade up through the river to the Narrows which makes for a nice hike.

On the way down, I saw different shades and light on the magnificent canyon walls.

I passed by Weeping Rock and down to Zion Lodge again where you can see some horseback riders getting ready to leave the coral.

It was a great hike and I finished up about the same time Pam got back to the Visitor's Center.  It was a fun day and one I will remember.  On the way out there, were more beautiful canyons to see.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Monument Valley

After a few days in beautiful Cortez, Colorado we headed south and west toward Monument Valley, Utah.  We were headed for one of those "we-are-so-close-we-have-to-stop" places and spent a few minutes at Four Corners where the states of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah touch.

 It reminded me a little bit of Key West "the Most Southern Point of the Continental U.S." where people wait in line to have their picture take "at the spot".

About an hour down the road we arrived at our campground and got all set up.  We looked at the weather and it was supposed to rain the next day.  We had booked a 3 1/2 hour tour through the valley but had plenty of time and changed the tour to later that afternoon.  We left at 3:30 PM from the campground and it worked out great.

We picked up some folks at the Goulding Lodge and then went over to a hogan where our driver and guide, Don, gave some history of the Navajo traditions.

He also introduced Lucy who gave a demonstration (with one of our fellow tourists) on the ladies hair bun.  After she gave a demo on spinning wool and explained the loom where she makes blankets and rugs, she offered to sit for pictures and Pam took her up on it.

Next we headed into the valley and it was the "Wow" factor at every turn.  These mountains in the distance all have names: El Capitan, Eagle Rock, the Setting Hen, Brigham's tomb, Left Mitten, Right Mitten, etc

There is no way we could keep them all straight we were just started out on the tour...

This is the road where John Wayne was in "Stagecoach" - the movie that launched his career.

We stopped along the way and our guide indicated the hill was a good vantage point to see up the valley.  

I thought is was ironic that a 'No Hiking' sign was posted nearby...

Good shot of "Left Mitten" and "Right Mitten".

 Totem Pole on the left in the distance.

 About an hour into it, we stopped near John Ford's Point where a local Indian is on his horse and getting ready to let a girl from Belgium (who was with us), sit on the horse for a unique photo.

While she was doing that we had some authentic frybread.  It was tasty and reminded me of soapapillas.

We were not the only open wagon tour mobile on the property and we all got quite dusty.  It was part of the experience and not a lot we could do about it.  Good thing it wasn't blowing hard or raining.  That would have been tough...

We went along and rounded Rain God Mesa and Thunderbird Mesa

 Moccasin Arch

 North Window

 As you can imagine I took hundreds of photos during our tour and only have a few here.  It was worth the time and effort to book the tour and one of those memories we will enjoy for a long time.

This whole area defies description.
Awesome.
Beautiful.
Desolate.
Mysterious.
Ancient.
Different.

Have you been?  What word would you use?

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Museum, Cliff House and Other Dwellings at Mesa Verde

You can't see everything in a day at Mesa Verde National Park.  In fact, it takes more than the two days we spent there.  But we saw quite a bit and finished up with a tour of the Museum over on Chapin Mesa.

It had a great 25 minute video explaining the history and some of the archeology of the Ancient Puebloans who occupied the area.

Some of the displays were old ones from the 1950's which I liked.

 A short hike to the Spruce House was next on the agenda and we had a good walk down the zig zag trail.

 The Spruce House is one of the best preserved and third largest cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde.

We next made our way over to the Cliff Canyon area and saw more dwellings high up along the canyon walls.

There was lots to see and plenty of scenic driving at Mesa Verde.  We are glad we finally made it there and hope to return.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Financials - May 2015

Note: 
This is my estimate of what our expenses will be for the month.  We have never really adhered to a 'budget' but I named it that early on and will leave it as such.

If any of this information is helpful and you would like a free version of the spreadsheet I use, please let me know and I will gladly send a copy to you.

-----------------------
Roadrunner Recap
In May, we started off the month seeing good friends Kirk and Susan in Oklahoma City.  Next, we went to Amarillo Texas and Palo Duro Canyon State Park.  The last three weeks we spent in Albuquerque NM seeing Reid and Amy.

• Twin Fountains Campground, Oklahoma City, OK
• Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Amarillo, TX
• Kirtland AFB FamCamp, Albuquerque, NM

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget

Our biggest under budget area was in RV maintenance where we only spent $188 of the $525 budgeted.

Biggest Expenses
At $1,485 over budget, the biggest area was spending money on an iPad mini and getting a complete overhaul and tune up on my bicycle.  Those combined to be over $981 of the expenses.

Large One Time Cost Item
Had to be for the iPad mini.

Monthly Average

 Good news here at only $24.68 above the yearly estimate.  For the entire 12 month 'fiscal year' for the Roadrunner, (June 1 to May 31) we were only $496.20 over the estimate/budget.

So there is a quick recap of our expense for the month of May 2015.
Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Mesa Verde National Park - Long House

Mesa Verde has too many sights to see in one day, so we actually spent three nights and two days.  It was the best display of ancient Puebloan cliff dwellings we have ever scene.  And then more.  We'll get right to the good stuff:  Here's a couple of photos at the Long House

We began our day early at 7:30 when the Vistor's Center opened.  We were scheduled for a 10:30 tour of the Long House but wanted to see if we could get tickets for an earlier one.

As it was, we were fortunate to get the last two tickets for the 10:30 tour.  And it was a 25 mile drive to the site so we had plenty of time to get over there.

**Hint:  You can purchase tickets for tours in advance in town at the Visitor's Center in Cortez or at the National Park Visitor's Center.  If we had known that, we would have gotten them the afternoon before.

It was a gorgeous day and we took our time driving through the park out to Wetherill Mesa and the starting point for the Long House tour.

The ranger-led tour was still over an hour away so we took a 2.0 mile hike to the Nordenshkiold Site.

We made it back to the starting point with our other 23 hiking partners and got the safety and resource brief from our ranger guide before we started out.

The hike down to the Long House was only slightly longer at 2.25 miles.  Once we got there it was everything we hoped it would be.  They estimate 150 people lived here under the alcove in their cliff dwellings.

One of the best things about the hike was meeting two new friends - Dick and Cathy.  They are from Minnesota and travel extensively in their Leisure Travel RV.

We had a great time chatting with them and then had a picnic under the shelter when we finished the hike.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!