Miscellaneous things in Colorado(05/20/12)

Well, I hope you all enjoyed Paul’s post.  He may be sorry he volunteered to write it, since I may try to get him to do it more often!

We were lucky enough to witness a solar eclipse while we were at Mesa Verde. I really like Lunar eclipses better, because I can just watch them occur, without worrying about having special glasses etc.  Although we knew about the eclipse, we almost missed it.  After hiking the trail to the highest point in the area, we decided we had enough time to do laundry before dinner.  While we were loading clothes into the dryer, someone asked us if the rumor about there being an eclipse was real.  Well, rats, of course it was, and here we were, just loading clothes.

  Luckily we had about an hour and a half before the “ring of fire” would take place.  We dried the clothes, ran back to the trailer, threw some cheese and crackers etc in the truck, and drove the 40 minute ride to reach the overlook where the rangers would be to hand out glasses and answer questions. They handed out little pieces of paper with pinholes in them so we could all “view” the eclipse. Doesn’t that look exciting?  There was a real camaraderie among everyone there, and those who actually had special glasses, were very nice about sharing them with those of us who didn’t get there early enough to get a pair.

 

While wandering around chatting with people, I found a much better way of viewing the sun.  Several people had cameras, binoculars and telescopes set up.  This guy had the best set up that I could find, and he was awesome about letting everyone get a good look.

The shadows that were created while the sun was eclipsed were really cool.  I remember seeing those strange crescent shapes during an eclipse when I was a kid.

By the time we got home, it was 9 pm, so it turned out to be a very long day.

Dozer has decided that Mesa Verde is one of his favorite places.  There were an abundant number of grasshoppers for him to eat, and the wildlife kept him quite entertained!

Taking a break from hiking and learning about ancient civilizations, we spent one day on a road trip.  We were within 40 miles of Four Corners and I didn’t want to leave the area without checking it out.  The spot where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah meet is on Navajo land, and there is a small charge for the privilege of seeing where they all come together.  There were also quite a few booths set up where we could buy anything from jewelry to T-shirts.  We managed to walk out without anything, although the jewelry was some of the most beautiful I’ve seen in a long time.

After leaving there, we meandered through Durango, CO and ate at an excellent Mexican restaurant on the way home.