Mesa Verde and the Four Corners Monument

We went back to Mesa Verde National Park to take the Long House tour which also was interesting and quite different from the Cliff Palace tour. At Long House we got to enter the cleft and walk around the dwellings which we were not able to do at the Cliff Palace. We saw the water seep at the back of the cleft which may have been one of the reasons the people chose to live there.

We went back to Cortez then on to the Four Corners Monument. What a rip-off and waste of time that was. A dusty clearing with a concrete pedestal surrounded by the different state flags. And around that was nothing more than yet another tourist trap of souvenir and stalls selling crap. $3 per person entrance fee to boot. It didn’t even come close to the extremely low expectations I had for the place. I’d rather have spent that money on a coffee.

Next stop was Mexican Hat – named for a pinnacle of rock that looks like a guy wearing a mexican hat. A small strip of town along the highway, it had a quaint and rustic Western feel to it.

We had an amazing steak dinner at a place called the Swinging Steak. They barbecue the steaks on a grill that swings back and forth on chains over a juniper wood fire. Their huge steaks come with sides of green salad and cowboy beans with a thick slice of Texas Toast. We split an 18 oz Ribeye with extra salad and were very impressed. The fire gave the steak a delicious smoky flavour and the movement of the grill prevented it from becoming burnt or overcooked. The service was slow but there was only one server and the cook working – even so they were able to get us our drinks and dinner in a reasonable time. Highly recommended!

Oh, and today is the start of Week 17! The little proto-baby should be the size of the palm of your hand and her uterus is about the size of a small melon.