Five National Parks in Five Days (Day Two)
I was up three hours before the Mesa Verde National Park‘s visitor center was scheduled to open, so I watched the sun rise and awaken the park. The center had only been open a few minutes when I arrived, but the ranger on desk duty was already busy speaking with other visitors. He confirmed for me that, as had been indicated on the website’s map, there was extensive scenic roadways in the park. After looking at the center’s exhibits about the Pueblo Native Americans who had inhabited the region, I readied myself for the day of driving in the park. As I mentioned in earlier posts, it is a great idea to enter national parks with a full tank of gas because, even if the park does offer gas for sale, the prices tend to be considerably higher. Since I had stocked before entering the park, I was ready for…
Seven National Parks in Ten Days–Can It Be Done?
I’m not sure exactly when I became a fan of national parks, but I am one. I couldn’t wait to be able to get my senior pass, but now I have it I want to put it to good use. I had visited both Rocky Mountain NP and Zion NP with my mother in 2012, but I knew I’d missed four parks in Utah. What I didn’t know was that I’d missed three parks in Colorado, too. My original plan was to visit the Utah parks, the Four Corners Monument, which is on Native territory and had been closed due to COVID until recently, and the Glass Skywalk at the Grand Canyon. However, in the development of the trip, I discovered that the distance to the Skywalk is far greater than I had originally thought. With the current gas prices (average $4.50/gal. as I write this, I have to take…