Colorado and Rob, Day 1 & 2

Rob turned 40 on the 16th of April.  So for a few months his wife, Erin, has been planning a surprise get together with his brothers and their families as well as his Mom, Helen.  I have to admit, as it came closer and closer to time for this get together to occur, I was wondering if it would actually happy for us.  But just 2 days before we left, Levi got the ok from his doctor that the infection was gone.

On Thursday the 7th, we picked up Helen in Provo and then headed down to Spanish Fork to meet Stephen, Holly, and their family.  We followed each other on our way to Colorado.

And it's a really good thing that we did because at one of our stops, David and I locked ourselves out of the van! 

We had stopped at Moab's Sand Hill to let the kids out to play a little.  I always lock the van and I knew David wouldn't so I did it for him.  But he purposely didn't take the keys (which I didn't know) because he didn't want to get sand in them (its one of those new keys).  But thankfully Stephen's phone was available and Helen has a membership to AAA so we were able to call for help.

 There was fun to be had while waiting.

As we drove to Colorado, Ruger seemed to do real well.  This was our first trip traveling with him in a vehicle for so long.  Later that night we made it to Durango Colorado and met at a pizza place to surprise Rob.  After that we went up to the cabin that Erin had rented for us.

It was beautiful and spacious.

(I don't know why, but this picture cracks me up.  This was taken at one of the lookout locations while we were driving into Mesa Verde.)

The next day there was a chance of snow and rain everyday but Friday was our best bet of being able to have the best weather for Mesa Verde.  Mine and David's family, as well as Helen, decided to go to Mesa Verde while the rest went to a hot spring pool. 

I can't put into works how excited I was to see this.  Cultures fascinate me.  I don't care if they are dead or still going strong; they just fascinate me.  And every since I learned, at a younger age, that years and years ago people used to live on the side of mountains....and that the "ruins" still existed, well, I've wanted to see it in person every since.

Just before seeing Cliff Palace, we were walking up and in the distance (in another direction) Brigham was the first to notice some dwellings.  They were across the valley/canyon and were much smaller than the Cliff Palace.  I was so surprised that he found them all by himself.

Then we walked on the overlook and saw this huge canyon.  I looked to my left and there it was.  If it wasn't raining and cold I'm sure David, Helen, and I could have stayed there much longer. 

House of Many Windows

Fire Temple

We were close to the end of our visit when we stopped at one of the many valley/canyon overlooks.  There was so much to see.  But from a distance, you had to really look because it blended in so well (which I am sure was a great defense for the Puebloan people).  But there were telescopes here and there to help you out.

David was the one who found this.  You have to look hard but you can see what looks like holes for stepping from one level to the next.

There were so many times that David and I would look at each other and say, "How in the world did they get there?  How did they survive?" Helen wondered how many children fell over and into these huge canyons.

I'm so grateful I was born into today's world with all its modern conveniences.  But I'm also so grateful that places like these have been preserved so that I can not only learn about them, but to have these experiences that teach me to realized just how very blessed we are as a people today.