Mesa Verde vía the Million Dollar Highway

Off we rode to the Million Dollar Highway.  This runs between Silverton and Ouray, Colorado.  It is a small two lane road that winds through the mountains.  Beautiful, a bit annoying with the summer construction, but NO comparison to the beautiful passes through the Sierras right here in California.  Really, we are so spoiled.  Not complaining, just saying.

I have been longing to ride on this road for years.  Perhaps my expectations were too high?  As you can see, it truly is beautiful.  It's just that I had heard so much about this road.  The beauty, the twists, the treacherous view if you looked down.  Not so much.....

While we stopped for gas, just before the climb in to the pass, we chatted with two other couples who were riding.  They trailer their bikes from North Carolina to Denver every year and then ride for a month. Hey, sounds good to us.  Anyway, they were talking about how they were staying in Mesa Verde National Park for the evening.  We ran in to them again at a pull out.  They were looking forward to their stay at the Lodge.  They were really happy there was a vacancy.  So of course, since we get our dining recommendations from the gas clerk, it's only natural that we'd get our accommodation recommendations from complete strangers just because they ride Harleys.  We don't really have a plan, and we did mention that Mesa Verde would be interesting if it worked out, so this sounded interesting.  Dave called, they had two rooms, so we had a plan for the night.

We all agree that this is the BEST part of the trip.  It doesn't take much.....a clean room with a spectacular view and good food.  We are so easy...but NOT cheap.

This National Park has contracted with Aramark to run the lodge and dining.  It is fabulous. And the great view helps too.  There's something grand about sitting on the top of a mesa, looking out over the grounds...even if there is a thunderstorm brewing.

The next morning we took a tour of Mesa Verde National Park.  Just another use of our Annual Pass...we're loving the good value!  We ended up not taking the formal tour, which would have provided more details of how the Cliff Dwellings were actually built and their way of life.

There was also plenty of wildlife to see, right along the road.......here's a coyote and bear.

Now on to the Four Corners.......