Breaking The Habit

June 24 -  We pulled in to Mesa Verde last night with plenty of time to spare and great news - the campground was all but empty, we could literally shop the campsites at Morefield Village.... this never happens! (though it filled by the end of the day)

Home for the night

Today was totally overcast, which, when you're in the high mountains, is a blessing. We had to boogy early because we had a 9:30am tour at the Cliff Palace (there are some cliff dwellings you can tour on your own, but to get the history and some explanations on the structures was super valuable). I wasn't sure how the kids would do - listening for an hour about things that don't make sense can be tough. But the overall awe with the dwellings was enough to keep them occupied. Like most kids, I think they were disappointed that they couldn't check out every room and ladder - but when you see the direct effect of having dirty humans exposed to the precious structure you understand why. I have to wonder how many people get the bigger picture here. What "just one" person can do to an environment, let alone the compounding effect of hundreds and then thousands, and more. How a stone, rough like sand paper, can become shiny and smooth from touch. Just from touch. Think about that. Humans are so heavy on this Earth, the rock is merely the most obvious instance. Unfortunately, we are creatures of habit and it's tough to create change. In the beginning of the tour the ranger was very clear about asking people to not touch, sit or lean on the rock walls, even making a joke out of it hoping to shame people and clearly communicate the importance of the message. I was surprised when later during the tour she had to ask a guy to not lean on the wall. I'm sure he didn't mean to be destructive. It's clearly not as obvious as dropping trash or breaking structures, it's a matter of habit. I'm sure if I were to ask each person who reads this, 'have you ever stopped to think of your actions and how they affect the Earth' there would be a resounding roll of the eyes, shrugging of shoulders and changing of subjects. What can one person do? It's so overwhelming when you see the sea of trash. Do you throw your cigarettes out your car window? Do you use plastic trash bags? Do you buy cases of water? Or even one every once in a while? All issues that everyone is aware of, but each person thinks "what's just one more?" If everyone could buy a jar of Gatorade powder and make their own Gatorade each morning, or buy a re-usable container and fill up their water multiple times a day, or bring a reusable mug to their coffee shop, think of the message this would send to the manufacturers. If we could just break the habit and stop the need for convenience. If everyone gave a damn about their actions.....

After the tour we decided to check out one of the self-guided dwellings where people could look and admire these amazing places (from behind a chain fence) with Rangers there to ask questions (and plenty of signage asking people to respect the premise). It's of no surprise that 90% of the dwellings are not open to the public. I know it's a great debate right now - National Park accessibility - but I'm all for protecting these places from ourselves. Humans are so destructive. The sheer ignorance people have visiting these fragile environments is sad and unfortunate. What will it take to generate real change? I have to admit, after this trip, I feel a loss of hope.

Cliff Palace Dwellings - hard to describe how amazing it is

This was some of the dwellings not open to the public but visible. One has to wonder - how easy was it for them access water and get in/out? It's crazy!

Cliff Palace - 90% original (only a little bit of work has been done to maintain the ruins.....)

Proof that I'm not ripping these pictures off Google

This was the only place at Cliff Palace they let people touch, to look inside to see original paintings from 1000 years ago. See all the black? That's bacteria growth from humans. Pretty gross right?

This picture, from far away, shows you how much that bacteria growth ruins the dwellings. That one window where they let people touch is filthy...... so disturbing how we impact our surroundings without intending to

Walking up the sandstone steps

Can you see the dwellings? I mean seriously! How do you even get to these?

Sorry. I didn't mean to digress there.

Continuing on - we were now headed to The Great Sand Dunes National Park - about 5 hours away. Well, like any other day on this trip - plans changed. We were driving through Pagosa Springs, CO and enjoying our surroundings when we went over a bridge and saw people floating the river. It looked so lovely. Seconds later we drove past a campground - begging us for another family vote. It was a no-brainer, Pagosa Riverside Campground would be home for the night.

We were super excited to get tubes and float the river, what I could see from the bridge looked so pleasant and relaxing. Well...... let's just say Mckenzie had had enough within 10 minutes. We found a nice beach for her to sit while Sierra and I continued. It's not that it was big and scary, but I know how quickly things can go wrong and Mckenzie was small and light enough to get stuck in every river feature - enough to scare her. Sierra, on the other hand, had a huge smile the whole time and was loving the adventure.

One of the very few pictures I snapped before Mckenzie bailed

Dinner at Pagosa - I was so proud of this. It didn't always look like this. Usually we just didn't have the time to really set up and enjoy our evenings.

First fire of the trip (seriously). First smores.

So happy

Smiles and Love (in this picture anyway)

The sunset was fabulous

I'm not sure, maybe I'm procrastinating (a specialty of mine) the end of the trip a bit. The end is in sight and while I miss Dan and wish he were on this journey with us, and miss the doggies, I'm completely in love with this lifestyle. It's a lot of work, and I'm tired, but after being home for a few days I'll be itching for our next impromptu adventure. Where nothing is scripted and we're letting it unfold before us. Going back to routine is...... discouraging. After the sand dunes we begin our long, arduous drive back east with multiple 10-hour days on the road. One more park. PLEASE!!!