Oh Colorado - I'm back!

For those of you not aware, I used to live in Colorado right after college. My first job was working for a not-for-profit ministry and I loved it! I lived there two years before I moved to China, but never returned. (You know, things happen...like marriage and kids.) But I returned and brought the whole kit and caboodle. 

We planned out four stops in Colorado over the span of a month. First stop was Durango. Great town meant for anything outdoors. We took advantage of the proximity to Mesa Verde to make that our first National Park within this great state.

If you've never been here, you should! It's an ancient village of the Pueblo people who made use of the cliff overhangs for shelter, built homes and community areas of mud and sticks. You can even see how the people evolved over the decades from using strictly mud, to adding sticks and then using rocks. It's truly amazing this still exists and allows us to understand how they lived!

Look closely at the pictures for little houses built within the rocks.

We also took great advantage of the great hikes within the town of Durango. Over the course of a week the family did three hikes in addition to our time at Mesa Verde. The kids were great, hiking 3 miles or so. Snacks help!