Day 21

Plum tired is what we are!  Got a late start this morning...didn't even wake up until 9am.  Then we hit the "all you can eat pancake breakfast" at the lodge of the Mesa Verde National Park.  We then drove to the top where we toured the museum and learned about the Ute Indians.  Then we hiked to a cliff dwelling called the Spruce Tree House which is the best preserved dwelling in the park.  Bode was so tired, he practically crawled the whole way.  The boys were allowed to climb a ladder down into the "kita" which is an underground room.  We were all pretty beat so we decided once you have seen one cliff dwelling, you have seen them all.  So, we hit the road.  We got as far as Durango, Colorado and stopped for lunch and to get some supplies at Walmart - oh joy!!  We continued our journey until we reached Alamosa, Colorado after clocking 275 miles.  While we are all pretty weary, the RV is a little worse for wear.  Did I mention Norm hit a pole at a gas station?  Well, half of the length of the side has a big scrape on it.  The door to all the "utilities" has decided to fall off so Norm is trying to figure out to rig it for the rest of the way home.  The windshield wiper was damaged in a wind storm across the desert so now the blade is exposed and has scratched the windshield.  A rock also hit the windshield and caused a large hole.  The generator might have an oil leak.  The front corner panel decided to come loose so Norm used some electrical tape to try and keep it in place.  You would think this thing just drove 3500 miles in 20 days!!!!  Probably worst of all, our Keurig coffeemaker fell over around a big turn and is now broken.  Hence the trip to Walmart to get a new one.  We certainly could not survive without our morning gallon of coffee!!  But alas, we are settled in for the night.  Steaks on the grill, a good game of "My National Parks Edition" Monopoly, campfire with marshmallows, and best of all, my family together safe and happy!  See, I'm not complaining!  Until tomorrow...

Day 20

Our plan when we awoke was to DRIVE!  We had about 5.5 hours of driving ahead of us, so we thought this would be a road day with a few scenic pit stops along the way.  But when we saw Lake Powell, we couldn't help ourselves!  It looks like tropical waters up next to the huge towering sand dunes.  We packed another picnic lunch and headed to the marina.  We ended up spending some time on the beach, then we rented a speedboat for 2 hours and the kids went tubing.  What fun!!!  Storms were brewing around us after about an hour and the water got really rough.  Made for an adventurous trip back to the marina for sure!  On the way, we lost our tube somehow and God only knows how we were able to double back and find it just floating where we apparently dropped it overboard.  So, we rallied back in the RV, changed into dry clothes, and traveled the remaining 4 hours to Mesa Verde State Park in Colorado.  We actually drove through Four Corners - the only town in the US where 4 states meet - Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah.  Pretty cool.  In total, we clocked 335 miles today with me doing most of the driving....I was in that kind of mood.  We set up camp in Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.  It is remote and beautiful.....we saw huge mule deer as we were pulling into our spot.  Norm already has the campfire started and the kids are putting hot dogs on skewers for a late dinner.   Until tomorrow!