Go West Young Girl - Durango and Mesa Verde

Lucille would rather fly!

Driving with a baby requires a little more flexibility and planning. As such, we divided our trip into Lucille-friendly segments since we had some ground to cover. We drove across the northern part of New Mexico which was beautiful and little traveled.

We chose this route because we wanted to stop by a new Ute Cultural Museum in southern Colorado. We weren't disappointed, the museum was one of the best we have been to with exhibits that utilized all the senses.

Crossing into Colorado from New Mexico

Waking up from her nap under the blanket

The Ute Museum

We spent the second night in Durango, a college town in Southern Colorado. We were just there for the evening, but got there early enough to stroll Main Street, eat dinner, and play in the park.

Strater Hotel

Inside the historic hotel

The Diamond Belle Saloon 

Lucille like the waitress fringe and feathers

Photobomb

Kisses

Park time

Swinging...

Too fast daddy!!

This park is where Lucille stood and then took her first steps by herself much to our surprise.

Smile!

Daddy-time

The next morning we spent the morning in Mesa Verde National Park, Lucille's 3rd National Park. I had visited with Dad and Peggy years before and was anxious to share it with Pearce because it is so unique. It was the home to the Anasazi Indians (or Ancestral Puebloans) who built their houses in the cliff sides. We signed up for the Balcony House Tour which had ladders to climb up and down and tunnels to crawl through. I was very enthusiastic about it, Pearce was freaked out.

Smiling before we started

 I think we took a misstep when we signed up for this tour. I was envisioning more of a hike and it ended up being a lot of stopping and listening to the tour guide talk on and on. Lucille.was.not.a.fan. Because of it we stood apart from the group so as not to ruin their experience, but we couldn't hear what was being said. We did have a park volunteer who stood back with us and shared dome of the details with us.

Part of the fortification

Climbing up to the next part

Defensive Wall

Peeking in at the group

Standing in front of a Kiva

Almost in Telluride! We stopped to enjoy the view!