Chillin' in Cortez, Colorado...Yet ANOTHER Day

We ended up staying yet another day here in Cortez...waiting on the truck repairs. The dealership called this morning at 9:30 am to say they needed until noon...we'll we had to check out of here by 11 am and turn the car in by 10 am, so that wasn't going to work out.  If we waited until noon, we'd have to stay another day...that also meant we had to renew the RV spot and rental car for yet another day...it's getting expensive.  So, we just chilled around the RV Park.  I was disappointed, but really not because I really like this RV park.

I took "the girls" out to their pen and watched them played for a bit this morning...

The girls eating pig ears this morning...one of their favorite treats.

My little Chanelee

And Coco Moco

...then  decided to read another 11 chapters in my book The Heiress of Winterwood. Captain Graham Sterling and Amelia Barrett have just gotten engaged...it's getting good! Lot's of twist and turns.  💓 Graham went to London and beat Edward to a marriage license; Edward find out and storms back to Amelia's home and became violent, is plotting revenge and the vicar's wife, Jane, comes to the rescue of Graham and Amelia to throw a dinner party for the new couple to be married to save their names...more to come.

Gotta LOVE a good book!

Next, the kids decided they wanted to hang out and try their hand at handstands and were debating on what a true hand stand was.  Cierra helped Hunter learn how to do it and spotted him while practicing.

Practicing Hand Stands

We went in and had a late lunch and then decided to go swimming at the pool once again. Scott came along this time.

Cortez Municipal Pool - right across the street from Sundance RV Park

Cierra spent the majority of her time on the water slide while Hunter jumped off the diving board and practiced his back floating. He's getting pretty good at it!

Watch out Michael Phelps!

Water baby!

Coming down the slide

All Smiles

Having a good time - lots of smiles!

Finally, at the pool we got the phone call from the Ram shop that they couldn't figure out what was wrong and to come pick it up.  What a waste of time!  Scott said at least the problem is documented. And, I guess we were fortunately to relax and see nearly everything Cortez has to offer.  We told the kids they could swim for another hour and then we had to be on our way.  Poor grandpa even got a little wet when Cierra decided to wring out her hair all over him!!

Cooling off with pool water!

Ahhh!

Cierra loves teasing Grandpa!

Swim time was over. It was a fun day. Now to start packing up.

Toweling off

Ready to  head back to the RV

Before we left, I showed Scott the exit door with protruding iron work that Hunter nose ran into the last time we swam. I don't blame him...I would have probably hit it myself if he hadn't.  For people about 4'5" - 4'10"  when you lean into the door to open it, you're going to either hit your head or your face!  The pool CLAIMED that no one has ever done this in 5 years! I seriously doubt it.  You can't even tell it's there...they should put an orange strip across it so you can see that it's there!  The poor kid.  I thought it had broke his nose at the time and I chewed out the pool manager for such a faulty design.  Oops. Oh well, over protective Grandma, I guess. 

Scott at the exit door...poor design to me!

Law suit waiting to happen!

We took the kids back to the RV, they got they showers and then we headed off to pick up the truck and drop off the rental car. 3 days wasted.

We were going to take the kids to Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe National Park and Big Bend National Parks but it's too difficult to find RV acommodations and by the time we get there much wouldn't be available as it is mainly on a first come, first served basis in this area.  I think we're going to just start driving toward San Antonio to get back on schedule and see Aztec Ruins National Monument in Aztec, NM, Chaco Cultural Center National Historic Park in Nageezi, NM, Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque, NM and then off to White Sands National Monument in Alamogordo, NM before crossing into Texas. We'll go as far as we can. Once we hit Texas we'll go to Chamizal National Monument in El Paso, Fort Davis National Historic Site in Fort Davis and then go to San Antonio to see The Alamo and the San Antonio Mission National Historical Park.  It's a 17 1/2 hour drive so we'll stop somewhere along the way tomorrow night once we get tired...maybe even boon dock for a night.

 And, finally, we watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 2 tonight and finished up our marathon. I think we'll be starting Star Wars tomorrow night.

Anasazi Cultural Center & Canyon of the Ancients Museum Trip

Since we're stuck in Cortez, I took the kids to the Canyon of the Ancients Visitor's Center and Anasazi Heritage Center located at 27501 Hwy 184, Dolores, Colorado.  They are housed in the same building and really one in the same thing.

It was a beautiful building and probably one of the nicest museum exhibits I've ever seen.  Everything was concise and very user friendly, especially for kids.  The grounds were organized in sections with descriptive elements to explain native plants, vegetation, etc.

The exterior was semi-circle shaped with vegetation throughout and pathways to explore.

This was my favorite exterior display.

Another angle

The Interior of the Visitor's Center / Museum was tastefully done.  They organization of the center made it very simple to understand with the info center on the left of the entrance and a shop on the right.  In the center was the entrance to the museum with Anasazi Indians and plaque leading off the exhibit.

It's free to visit the Visitor's Center and $5 per adult (children under 17 are free) to view the museum exhibits, which I highly recommend.  If you have kind of National Park Pass you received free entry.  They take all types of park passes and they are also ADA accessible.

Info Center on the left.

Museum Shop on the right.

Anasazi Cultural People Greeting as you enter.

Verbage on the Anasazi

I was always taught that this group of Indians was the Anasazi...that's the name they have always gone by that I've known of...even when my children did the Junior Ranger programs in Zion National Park and they also spoke of the Anasazi.  Now, they are called the Ancestral Puebloans - the "politically correct".  Go figure.

They did have a Junior Explorer program - similar to the National Parks Junior Ranger program and the kids decided to do their booklets to earn a badge.  They only had to do a few pages per their age group but what they had to do helped them discover the entire museum and exhibits therein.

Main Attractions

• Dominguez Pueblo, Escalante Pueblo, Weave on a Pueblo-style loom
• Grind corn into meal with stone tools
• Touch real artifacts
• Explore replicas of an early pit-house and Pueblo household
• Behind the scenes curator tours

Amenities & Services

• Musuem
• Visitors Center
• Museum Shop
• Picnic Area
• Restrooms
• Water
• Nearby Restaurants

Typical native village with artifacts

Beautiful displays with very unique items in each case.

Hunter is searching for answers for his scavenger hunt page.

Beautiful cases with clear, concise descriptions of each item.

Wall of Pots

Hunter learning about pots and turquoise in the display case and pull out "touch me" drawers.

More of the museum

They had interactive stations for kids (and adults) to see the artifacts closer thru microscopes.

Cierra is reading up on how to weave...and gave up.

Dye chart of plants for each color obtained.

Hunter didn't give up and weaved into the loom on the wall!  Good for you!

Case on bones that were used in sewing.

Anasazi past and present.

There was also a 3 station computer lab to learn about the culture!

Hunter is inspective the drawers.

And so did Cierra!  I found it quite interesting to touch, hold and examine the items.

Case on the archaeological expeditions that have occurred in this area.

And, there was even a phone area to listen to a speaker on how arrowheads were made.

Hunter really was interested in a lot of the exhibits here.

Cierra was really intrigued by the microscopes.  Both kids were very involved in this center.

On the wall of history, we learned about the discoverers of Hovenweep and Canyon of the Ancients, but we also learned about Pioneer Archaeologist Gustav Nordenskiӧld, a Swedish-born scholar and the explorer to map and excavate the cliff dwelling with help from the Wetherill family.  He wrote a paper called The Cliff Dwellers of the Mesa Verde in 1893.  On his way home to Sweden, he was arrested in Durango, a town 8 miles north of Cortez, with the artifacts that he collected but no law prevented artifact removal and so Nordenskiӧld was allowed to take these treasured back home to Sweden.  Because of this, a national movement happened to protect United States archaeological resources.  Nordenskiӧld's artifacts, notes and 240 glass  plate photographs are in Helsinki at the National Museum of Finland and they are well cared for and Europeans are able to enjoy the fruit of his labors.

Gustav Nordenskiӧld 1868-1895

Here are other photos of the history wall.

This is the wall of history.

This is a photo that intrigued me:

This is a photo of Virginia McClurg (r)in a 1917 pageant
"The Marriage of the Dawn and the Moon"
at Mesa Verde's Spruce Tree House.

What a really fun day.  The kids received this Anasazi - Canyon of the Ancients pins and I bought them patches for their Junior Ranger vests.  I would highly recommend going to this location and taking your children of all ages. There's something fun and interesting for all ages to enjoy inside and outside.

Cierra even wants to stay to do a puzzle in the Visitor's Center.

After the Visitor's Center experience, we drove back to Cortez and Scott needed to go refill the propane tank and run to Wal-Mart.  Then, we all headed over to the Ram dealership to find out they still don't know what up with the truck.  Scott said he wished he had told them yesterday to order in a part from the American Fork, Utah store to replace the controller because that's what he thinks is the problem. Now, we might to stay another day or two!  Frustration!!

We took the kids over to a cute antique shop I saw while driving on the road, yesterday called "Antique Corral".  This is a REALLY nice antique shop out on Hwy 160 about 2 miles south of Cortez, where everything is all under one ownership (instead of vendor stalls) and the shop is divided by type of items (i.e. kitchen, clothing, shoes, Indian, etc.) to make finding what you want easier.  It was neat, tidy and a whole lot of fun! Hunter bought a coyote tail and Cierra bought a nightstand for her bedroom.  They were both tickled with their purchases.

Antique Corral

Why Do Kids Sleep So Much? and other things...

Scott and I have been up for a while now.  Showered, dressed, fed and ready to go, but as it turns out, EVERY SINGLE DAY, we wait on sleeping kids.  Why is it that kids sleep so much?!  It's the questions that plaques all parents (and grandparents) during the summer months... WAIT!  I KNOW!  It's because they stay up all hours of the night playing video games or streaming movies, that why.  I think we need to start a "go to bed by 10 pm and get up by 8 am" routine.

Cierra is still sleeping with her tattered baby quilt.
We just made her a new one just like this one, but she still uses it.  Go figure.

Hunter is under there somewhere.

Still no news on the truck...we're ready to head out today...I guess we wait.  They're still trying to figure out what wrong with the braking system...

On another note, I've started reading a book last night called, The Heiress of Winterwood by Sarah Ladd that my mother-in-law gave me to read.  

It is set in Darbury, England in 1814.  So far I read 4 chapters last night where Katherine, mother of a newborn, dies and Amelia vows to Katherine on her deathbed to keep and rear the child.  However, the child's father, Graham Sterling, a sea captain who has been off to sea returns.  Amelia decides to propose marriage to him in order to keep her vow...  It's pretty good and the cover is gorgeous.  It's book #1 from the "Whispers on the Moors" series of three books. I may have to get all these books.

Synopsis:

Amelia Barrett, heiress to an ancestral estate nestles in the English moors, defies family expectations and promises to raise her dying friend's infant baby.  She'll  risk everything to keep her word - even to the point of proposing to the child's father, Graham Sterling, a sea captain she's never met.

Tragedy strikes when the child  vanishes with little more than a sketchy ransom note hinting to her whereabouts.  Fear for the  child's safety drives Amelia and Graham to test the boundaries of their  love for this infant.

Amelia's detailed plans would normally see her through any trial, but now, desperate and shaken, she examines her soul and must face her one weakness: pride.

Graham's strength and self-control have served him well and earned him much respect, but chasing perfection has kept him a prisoner of his own discipline.

Both must learn to accept God's sovereignty and relinquish control so they can grasp the future he has planned for them...

Here's the rest in the series if you're interested: