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.

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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.

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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.
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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!

Albuquerque to Cortez Colorado

Scenic Vistas!  We loved the drive from Albuquerque to Cortez, Colorado and Mesa Verde.

We left Kirtland AFB, on to Bernalillo NM, Cuba, Farmington, Shiprock and into Cortez.  It was a bright and sunny spectacular  day.

It was one great view after another.

One of those, "I can't take it all in" driving days.

To top it off, we landed at an excellent campground.  We loved our time at the Cortez/Mesa Verde KOA.  We read up on the reviews at rvparkreviews.com and then it is a roll of the dice sometimes.

This time it was a great choice.  Even though it was pricey at $44/night, it was worth every penny.

Our campsite has one of those beautiful views across the canyon.  The sites are well thought out and each have a picnic table and a campfire ring.  The sites are level and the whole campground is covered in gravel that works well.  There are no potholes or ruts.

 The campground itself is updated as if it is brand new.  It is one of the most well maintained facilities we have ever seen.  These folks do it right!  People at the front desk are friendly and the camp store is well stocked with reasonable prices.  The laundry room is full of washers and dryers that are almost new.

The flowers and grass lawns around the campground are well groomed.  The facility also has a couple of large teepees for rent with single beds inside.  There are cabins to rent like any KOA and the pool is clean I took advantage of it each day.  This place is one that I highly recommend.  It doesn't get much better than this.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Finishing Up in Albuquerque

As our time drew to a close in Albuquerque, we managed to fit in some family things.

We had lunch with Reid and Amy and Adam and Melissa before they returned home.  This is one of the best restaurants in Albuquerque!  With the indoor and patio dining, it has a great atmosphere.  And the food was great.

Last year while we were there, Reid and Amy's fence blew down so we dug new post holes and secured it 'temporarily'.  It needs to last another 2-3 years before they decide what to do with it.  

Our task at hand was to repaint the thing.  Reid and I rented a power washer and scraped all the loose/old paint off.

Then we wall covered it with primer.

 Next, they picked the color they wanted and we finished up with a beige-ish color.  After we finished the coat of primer we vowed to do the painting earlier in the day.  Getting it done in 90 degree heat kind of zaps the strength out of you.

We celebrated the job being halfway done by going out to eat at a new New Mexican restaurant for us - La Salita.

Another great place for some green chile with enchiladas, tamales, huevos rancheros...

We parked next to each other and got a photo of our license plates.  What are the chances twin brothers end up with the same number in their license plates from two different states?

The next day we got back on the fence and finished up.

We also had time for a baseball game seeing the local minor league team - The Isotopes.

It was 'hat' night and a beautiful evening for baseball.  We got some great seats behind the third base dugout and watched the home team beat up on the Omaha Storm Chasers 12-4.  Reid and Amy made it on the 'Kiss Cam' between one of the innings along with a dozen other surprised couples.  It was a fun night.

We look forward to our next return trip to see Reid and Amy.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!