Driving through the Manti-LaSal National Forest is Glorious
Leaving the desert area around Needles, I passed by Newspaper Rock, a Utah State Historical monument. The Navajo call it "Tse' Hone" which means 'Rock that tells a story'. The earliest carvings were created 2,000 years ago. There are over 650 documented petro-glyphs and were carved by Archaic, Anasazi, Fremont, Navajo, and Puebloan people.
Its a very accessible spot - just a short walk from a large parking lot.
The fall colors were a blaze of color as I drove through the mountains. Not many pull-overs; but I only saw a half-dozen cars in over 100 miles, so stopping briefly on the road wasn't a problem.
Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez Colorado
I arrived pretty early in the day hoping to get a campsite within the park - in Utah, all the parks were at capacity most of the time. To my surprise, Mesa Verde has a huge infrastructure - lodges, cafes, gas, laundry, and a very big campground with about 400 sites.
 |
| statue outside the Visitor Center, showing native climbing the rock face to a cliff dwelling. |
 |
| The hills around the campground are blazing yellow thru orange to deep reds |
 |
| a touch of white amid all the bright fall colors |
No comments:
Post a Comment
We Love Comments!!