DAY #6

After an exciting night for me (while I was doing laundry I noticed that the extension to the El Ranchero was on fire and there were firemen all over the place…it is across the street so it didn’t disturb my sleeping family at all) we had a leisurely start to our day. We ate breakfast in the hotel, and Steve enjoyed an authentic Mexican breakfast – Huevos Rancheros – complete with Mexican rice and beans, Woof! We finally headed off away from Route 66 north towards Colorado.

Almost the entire time heading up we were on a Navajo Reservation. It is truly beautiful country. We saw ranches and horses, and Shiprock Mountain (Shiprock, NM is quite a large town as towns go out here) and lots and lots of mesas/hills/mountains. It was a lovely drive north – and a nice break nice to not have to figure out where to turn next to stay on 66!

We arrived at Mesa Verde National Park around 12:45 and quickly tried to figure out the lay of the land. We decided to forgo picking a campground site until later (the ranger at the entrance said there were always plenty) and head straight in to get tickets to the guided tours. We got 3:30 tickets for Balcony House and 5:30 tickets for Cliff Palace. Both places are up in the rock and quite interesting to get to. Balcony House requires you to climb a 32 foot ladder, which Pete did with flying colors! (after his experience at City Museum I knew he could do it). We also required crawling on hands and knees through a small entrance inbetween rooms. We crawled…Pete merely bent over. Sometimes it is really nice to be 3 feet tall!

It was a bit hairy for me, though, with him. I didn’t look up as much as I should have, because I was constantly making sure Pete wasn’t walking off the edge of the cliff dwelling! Emily wondered why they hadn’t put up guardrails. * Sigh * Oh Emily.

So, after a long afternoon of pretending we were Pueblo Indians living on the side of a cliff, it was time to get camping! I have learned two things from this experience. 1. If you are setting up a campsite at 7:30 at night, DON’T try to do dinner too. We were running to get set up, cook, eat, breakdown, and get into the tent by 10. 2. Be organized INSIDE the car before you start unpacking the top. Because it never gets better inside the car once everything from on top comes down!

Since I was unable to write my blog last night (who could find the computer?!?), I can also give you the skinny on what happened during the night, in chronological order (although I can’t give you exact time which is probably a good thing):

1. We all snuggled into our sleeping bags watching lightening in the distance creep ever closer.
2. I decide to close one window “just in case”. Pete insists on closing the other window, but loses the fight.
3. I wake in the middle of the night to a cool breeze and more lightening. I decide to go ahead and close the other window.
4. Pete wakes up crying. I wrap him in blankie.
5. Pete wakes up crying again. I decide he is cold and so brings him into the double sleeping-bag with me and Steve. The lightening still looks impressive.
6. I wake up in between Pete and Steve COMPLETELY crushed (only able to sleep on my side), and so I move to Pete’s bed, which is located perpendicular to our bags.
7. I wake up FREEZING and so I try to slip down into the thin top that is Pete’s sleeping bag. I then realize that this is made for someone 3 feet tall, not 5.5 feet tall. I embrace the fetal position and attempt to continue sleeping (lightening occasionally flashes…it’s no longer threatening, just annoying)
8. Emily awakens, throws off her sleeping bag top and blanket and says “I am so HOT!” I immediately fish around, find the blanket and steal it from her. On top of Pete’s bag I can now stretch out with at least a blanket.
9. Steve wakes up with Emily and Pete pushing on him from the left, and Andy pushing on him from the right (Andy has his head completely on Steve’s pillow!) Steve picks up Andy’s upper body and hurls it towards the tent grunting “Move OVER.” I just laugh, sleeping above their heads on my tiny air mattress.
10. It begins to rain. No one cares anymore.
11. We all awake to the sun and Pete standing over us saying “The dark is GONE!” Huzzah.