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AKtoMO911PB110379 Zoomed in photo of Shiprock in New Mexico. This feature has special meaning to the Navajo of the Four Corners region. AKtoMO911PB110379
AKtoMO912PB110380 The flags of the Four Corners states: Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico (from left to right). AKtoMO912PB110380
AKtoMO913PB110381 From the parking area, we could still see Shiprock in New Mexico as the storm clouds rolled in. AKtoMO913PB110381
AKtoMO914PB110383 Kate posed for her shot in all four states... AKtoMO914PB110383
AKtoMO915PB110385 ...as did I. Just after a little shopping for some gifts at the Navajo vendors and after a brief rainshower rolled through, we took off back the way we came. We headed east on US Route 160 and re-entered Colorado at 9:21 AM (MST). Along the way we saw some great lightning strikes from the passing thunderstorms. After a while we reached the intersection with US Route 666 and headed north on US Route 160/666. At Cortez, Colorado, we headed east on US Route 160, where we eventually came to the road south to... AKtoMO915PB110385
AKtoMO916PB110392 Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado. AKtoMO916PB110392
AKtoMO917PB110393 We headed south on the park road until we reached the Chapin Mesa Museum, where we ate lunch to wait out the passing storms. After the storms passed, we checked out the Spruce Tree House ruins (described here)... AKtoMO917PB110393
AKtoMO918PB110395 ...which was near the museum. AKtoMO918PB110395
AKtoMO919PB110398 We then left the museum and headed further south on Mesa Top Road to Mesa Top Loop. One of the first pullouts on Mesa Top Loop was for Navajo Canyon... AKtoMO919PB110398
AKtoMO920PB110399 ...with the view to the northwest of the canyon. The skies cleared up some from earlier in the day. AKtoMO920PB110399
AKtoMO921PB110401 We also passed by and checked out some of the pithouses along the way, and also the Mesa Top Sites. AKtoMO921PB110401
AKtoMO922PB110402 The next few photos show the dwellings that were built in the area,... AKtoMO922PB110402
AKtoMO923PB110403 ...of which, most were of the Kivas. AKtoMO923PB110403
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AKtoMO925PB110414 Next we came to Sun Point View, where we got our first glimpse of Cliff Palace. AKtoMO925PB110414
AKtoMO926PB110421 Further down the road, we got a closer view of Cliff Palace... AKtoMO926PB110421
AKtoMO927PB110422 ...and the zoomed in shot. AKtoMO927PB110422
AKtoMO928PB110423 From Cliff Palace Viewpoint, we headed back north along the Mesa Top Road. We came to one of the overlooks (this one for the Geology)... AKtoMO928PB110423
AKtoMO929PB110427 ...where we could see more of the mesa cliffs. AKtoMO929PB110427
AKtoMO930PB110429 Further north was the Montezuma Valley Overlook... AKtoMO930PB110429
AKtoMO931PB110430 ...with a cool rock section that was the place where a road had previously been planned... AKtoMO931PB110430
AKtoMO932PB110434 ...and the valley itself. From here, we headed north to US Route 160 east, then into Durango, Colorado by 2:40 PM (MST) for the evening. AKtoMO932PB110434
AKtoMO933PB120436 November 12, 2005 (Day 23) began with us leaving Durango, Colorado at 7:05 AM (MST) and heading south on US Route 550. Around 7:27 AM (MST) we entered New Mexico. We continued south, where we eventually joined with New Mexico State Route 44 south. From this road, we soon came to the dirt road headed southwest toward Chaco Culture National Historic Park, New Mexico. AKtoMO933PB120436
AKtoMO934PB120437 One striking feature is Fajada Butte. It is made up of the Menefee Formation at the base, and the Cliff House Sandstone of the upper two thirds. AKtoMO934PB120437
AKtoMO935PB120438 Before proceeding to the ruins, we checked out the visitor center. AKtoMO935PB120438
AKtoMO936PB120440 One of the first ruins we saw was Hungo Pavi. AKtoMO936PB120440
AKtoMO937PB120441 Hungo Pavi ruin... AKtoMO937PB120441
AKtoMO938PB120443 ...and a zoomed in photo. AKtoMO938PB120443
AKtoMO939PB120444 Next ruin was Chetro Ketl. AKtoMO939PB120444
AKtoMO940PB120445 Chetro Ketl in the distance. AKtoMO940PB120445
AKtoMO941PB120446 One of the biggest Great House was at Pueblo Bonito... AKtoMO941PB120446
AKtoMO942PB120448 ...shown here in a descriptive artists rendition... AKtoMO942PB120448
AKtoMO943PB120447 ...and the Pueblo Bonito ruin from the trail. AKtoMO943PB120447
AKtoMO944PB120450 The southeastern side of the ruin at Pueblo Bonito AKtoMO944PB120450
AKtoMO945PB120451 A view of Pueblo Bonito ruin toward the southwest. AKtoMO945PB120451
AKtoMO946PB120452 The eastern side of the Pueblo Bonito ruin. From here, we headed back out of the park toward New Mexico State Route 44, then headed south. We eventually came to New Mexico State Route 4, then headed east. We had lunch at a small diner (with ice cream shakes!) in Jemez Springs, New Mexico. AKtoMO946PB120452
AKtoMO947PB120458 After lunch, we continued east on New Mexico State Route 4 until we reached the Jemez Springs Soda Dam. AKtoMO947PB120458
AKtoMO948PB120461 The Jemez River cuts under part of the travertine (limestone) dam. AKtoMO948PB120461
AKtoMO949PB120462 The dam is made up of the precipitation of calcium carbonate from the mineral loaded spring water that feeds into the Jemez River. AKtoMO949PB120462
AKtoMO950PB120463 The view from the dam down the Jemez River toward the south-southwest. AKtoMO950PB120463
AKtoMO951PB120469 Kate had fun walking on the top of the soda dam. AKtoMO951PB120469
AKtoMO952PB120470 A view from the top of the soda dam to the north. AKtoMO952PB120470
AKtoMO953PB120475 Further east on New Mexico State Route 4, we came to a columnar jointed pyroclastic unit called Battleship Rock. AKtoMO953PB120475
AKtoMO954PB120476 The edge of it looked like the bow of a battleship. AKtoMO954PB120476
AKtoMO955PB120477 Continuing east on New Mexico State Route 4 we soon came to the Valles Caldera National Preserve. AKtoMO955PB120477
AKtoMO956PB120478 A look to the west-northwest part of Valles Caldera. AKtoMO956PB120478
AKtoMO957PB120479 A look to the north at Valles Caldera. The ridge in the distance is the Northern Moat Rhyolites. From here we continued east on New Mexico State Route 4 until we reached the entrance road to... AKtoMO957PB120479
AKtoMO958PB120480 ...Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico. AKtoMO958PB120480
AKtoMO959PB120482 After checking out the visitor center, we took a short little stroll to some of the cliff dwellings. Along the way, the light was hitting the Bandelier Tuff (erupted from Valles Caldera) just right. AKtoMO959PB120482
AKtoMO960PB120485 The first site we came to was the Big Kiva on the floor of the valley. AKtoMO960PB120485
AKtoMO961PB120488 Another view of the Bandelier Tuff with the awesome sunlight. AKtoMO961PB120488
AKtoMO962PB120489 Some of the dwellings were built at the base of the tuff cliffs, but... AKtoMO962PB120489
AKtoMO963PB120490 ...others were carved right into the tuff (welded pumice). Kate went up to check one out. AKtoMO963PB120490
AKtoMO964PB120493 A view along the tuff cliffs toward the south. AKtoMO964PB120493
AKtoMO965PB120497 The Tyuonyi ruins on the valley floor. AKtoMO965PB120497
AKtoMO966PB120498 The Tyuonyi ruins, as viewed toward the south-southeast, with the Bandelier Tuff in the background with sunlight hitting the unit. AKtoMO966PB120498
AKtoMO967PB120502 After we left Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico, we headed east on New Mexico State Route 4, then east on New Mexico State Route 502, then east on New Mexico State Route 30. Finally, we headed north on US Route 285. While still in New Mexico, we had a great view of the lighting off the eastern mountains from the setting sun. AKtoMO967PB120502
AKtoMO968PB120503 The cool thing about it was that the moon was also able to be photographed with the pinkish snow-capped mountains, while... AKtoMO968PB120503
AKtoMO969PB120504 ...to the west the small amount of clouds aided the effect of the sunset... AKtoMO969PB120504
AKtoMO970PB120505 ...and this one was even closer to sunset. A couple hours later, at 5:33 PM (MST), we entered Colorado on US Route 285 north. Around 6:15 PM (MST) we arrived at our destination of Alamosa, Colorado and stayed at a hotel on US Route 160. AKtoMO970PB120505
AKtoMO971PB130508 November 13, 2005 (Day 24) we headed out at 8:15 AM (MST) and traveled east on US Route 160. We soon came to the turn to Colorado State Route 150 north to head for Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado. AKtoMO971PB130508
AKtoMO972PB130507 As we drove toward the visitor center, we had some views of the sand dunes with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the background. AKtoMO972PB130507
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AKtoMO975PB130513 Since the visitor center hadn't opened up when we got there, we headed to the parking area to walk on the dunes. Along the way, we saw several deer. This buck just stopped and looked at us go by. Sorry - NO HUNTING! AKtoMO975PB130513
AKtoMO976PB130518 The views of some of the sand dunes to the northwest. AKtoMO976PB130518
AKtoMO977PB130520 The people at the top of the High Dune give a good scale to the size of the dunes. AKtoMO977PB130520
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AKtoMO979PB130522 More of the dunes with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the background. AKtoMO979PB130522
AKtoMO980PB130523 Nice view of the ripples that have formed from the rain that occassionally flows down this stream bed. From here, we headed back to the visitor center, then south on Colorado State Route 150. We then headed east on US Route 160, then north on I-25 to Colorado Springs, Colorado. After lunch, we headed east on US Route 24, then east on I-70. We drove for the next two days through Kansas and Missouri until we arrived in St. Louis, Missouri on November 15, 2005 around 10:08 AM (CST). AKtoMO980PB130523
AKtoMO981PB190535 During the next week we had to shop for some furniture while we waited for our household goods to arrive. In that time frame, we went downtown to check out the Gateway Arch, seen here with the Old Cathedral in the foreground. AKtoMO981PB190535
AKtoMO982PB190537 The Gateway Arch is actually part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial that is dedicated to the Lewis and Clark Expedition authorized by Thomas Jefferson in 1803. The next couple photos are of the Gateway Arch around sunset. This view is to the south. AKtoMO982PB190537
AKtoMO983PB190538 Directly to the south along the trend of the Arch at sunset. AKtoMO983PB190538
AKtoMO984PB190539 Up close to the Arch on the northeastern side. AKtoMO984PB190539
AKtoMO985PB190540 The view directly up at the center part of the Arch... AKtoMO985PB190540
AKtoMO986PB190541 ...zomming in on the observation windows. AKtoMO986PB190541
AKtoMO987PB190545 This is the final shot of the trip. The Old Court House at night from the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. AKtoMO987PB190545

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