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Chapin Mesa at Mesa Verde National ParkChapin Mesa at Mesa Verde National Park

Chapin Mesa at Mesa Verde National Park

Thursday & Friday, October 12-13, 2023

For the past year or so, Diane and I have been planning to spend an extended three-day weekend in southern Utah so we could watch the Annular Solar Eclipse that would be occurring on Saturday morning. A month or so back we found out that she would also have Thursday off from work, so I went ahead and grabbed two permits for the Square Tower House Tour at Mesa Verde National Park because it’s the only tour offered in the park this year that we had not been on before. Since we had such a great time exploring Wetherill Mesa last summer I thought it would be a great idea copy that trip and spend the entire day visiting sites and overlooks on Chapin Mesa this time, especially the ones I hadn’t been to before or just don’t remember all too well. In the end we would spend sunup to sunset on Chapin Mesa and have a pretty great day, even if it was a bit windy and chilly out!

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Griffith Peak in the Spring MountainsGriffith Peak in the Spring Mountains

Griffith Peak in the Spring Mountains

Saturday & Sunday, July 9-10, 2022

After spending Saturday morning hiking in the Tushar Mountains it was time to continue on the next leg of my journey to San Diego with a hike in the Spring Mountains just west of Las Vegas. I grabbed an early dinner in town and then drove up Kyle Canyon to the small mountain town of Mount Charleston to get a feel for the area and figure out the camping situation. I checked out the trailheads in the area so I knew where I’d be going early on Sunday morning in the dark and then drove further north on the Deer Creek Highway to hopefully find some dispersed camping since all the campgrounds near the trailhead were full, which was no surprise. Luckily, the first side road I headed down appeared to be a popular dispersed camping area and I found a nice site that was unoccupied. The campsite was located at about 7,600 feet and the temperature in the shade was very comfortable. I read a book and listened to podcasts for a while and then went to bed early so I could get an extra early start on Sunday morning. Unfortunately, since the area was obviously a popular camping area, there were a lot of loud people nearby late into the night, so I’m glad I had my earplugs with me…

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Mesa Verde National ParkMesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde National Park

Saturday & Sunday, October 18-19, 2014

While Diane usually likes me to plan our weekend adventures, I made her decide where we would be going this weekend since Monday was her birthday. She ended up choosing Mesa Verde National Park because it’s a place she has wanted to visit since she moved here. Her choice worked out well for me because it’s also a place I really haven’t spent much time at before but have wanted to. I have typically avoided Mesa Verde in the past because of the large crowds this popular National Park attracts in the summer, but thought that this might be a good time of the year to try and finally go there. It also worked out perfectly that Saturday was the last day of the season for the guided Balcony House tour, so we would be able to visit that ruin on the last day of the season and not miss out.

CONTINUE READINGMesa Verde National Park
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