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Mesa Verde questions, if people are familiar with it. I was planning roughly a trip around May 18th, or possibly a little later in June. The guided tours will started (just) by then. Car rental will be as much as air fare, if I rent one - so I was hoping to fly in, cab it to a motel, and the taxi service said it goes to the park. From there, I was hoping to hike and see things, but wondering if I really will need wheels there. I could do the trip for about $700 without, or $1000+ with. Trail maps show a lot of the trails right from the visitor center. Anyone know if tours are walkable from there, or is it a series of drives? I can hike a good distance (and will be) but it's a BIG park.
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Mar 30, 2023 20:01
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 19:08 |
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Hah. A dumb thing I didn't think about. Here I am looking at a map going 'oh, looks pretty close!'. *Mesa* yeah, might be a bit of 'as the crow flies' there! So used to living in flat Midwest. Thanks for the advice. I grew up reading through a neighbor's hoard of old National Geographic magazines, and this place used to fascinate me as a kid. It's been on a bucket list since before people were using the term bucket list...
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Mar 31, 2023 14:29
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Neat! How do they make the arrangements, then? Tribal company for tours? I'm currently at the point where I am juggling the merits of a less expensive, but maybe missing the mark trip, a more expensive, but later (Fall?) trip, or rain checking it for a future year, and just doing more hiking in Wisconsin. I've spent the last couple years fully supporting my sister, as she fights through the disability application process and it eats all my 'spare' income. It sucks being responsible, when I finally have a job that has both the income and time off for adventures. So many places to see, and Google helpfully pointed out that last month I didn't go 20 miles from my front door.
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Apr 13, 2023 18:44
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xzzy posted:Finding tribal guides can be a chore because they don't have the best internet presence. Generally what happens is you do a bunch of google searching, find a phone number, and call to figure out specifics and maybe make a reservation. So you're going to have to be willing to sit on the phone and ask around. For sure! I am slowly ticking off Ice Age Trail segments (which while not a National Park, is a National Trail!) With the aid of a stonkin map poster the Trail Alliance made:  It would be nice to see the Southwest again.
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Apr 13, 2023 22:45
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Anyone driven from Denver to Cortez to go visit Mesa Verde? Curious what the drive is like (would be solo) and if I should bother with anything bigger than the little flavor rental car. June trip. I like driving, so long as I have a stereo! Flights are pretty cheap midweek.
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Jan 21, 2024 22:36
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Yep .plan is to stay in Cortez maybe 3 or 4 days. Hit the park and do tours, hike about. I like the idea of two routes! I wish I could do it sooner, but the tours don't start until mid May.
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Jan 21, 2024 22:49
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Booked my flight, rented the car, now I just gotta wait till June 15th. Flying Saturday to return Friday, figure I'll explore the park hiking a bit too, beyond the tours. Coming from Wisconsin, I'm going to be way more impressed by like OMG IS THAT A LIZARD than the locals, at the small stuff. (I do like lizards though!). This park has been on my radar since I saw a big write up of it in some musty old National Geographic as a kid. Listened to an Audiobook of the pre-contact native cultures of North America too ("Ancient Civilizations of North America") and the Prof did a lot of his study on the Southwest cultures, and really got in pretty deep. Absolutely phoned it in for the Pacific Northwestern tribes, but he can't be an expert in everything, I guess.
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Jan 25, 2024 19:03
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Ooh, I wonder if they have like an outlet or returns store. Most of my hiking gear is kind of the opposite though, I love Frost River, which is waxed canvas and all the weight. Leather and brass! My biggest pack weighs 11lbs... Empty. (That's more throw on the bottom of the canoe than day hike). Thanks for all the guidance!
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Jan 25, 2024 20:04
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As a mild update, I decided to be a bit adventurous (will see if I regret this) and bought a small, plane packable two person tent. Dark Skies land, and expensive hotels - just going to camp at Mesa Verde. I have a lot of car camping gear, but mostly aimed at bigger groups. Going to sleep under the stars. I think it may be awesome. Will pack layers too, since desert gets cold? I've slept in a hammock at 10F, June desert probably won't hurt me. I am also going to start hitting the Stairmaster at the gym, because the Ouray Engineer Pass/Bear Creek Trail is 8500->10500ft above sea level in 3.5 miles!
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Feb 15, 2024 18:49
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Talking to coworkers about our planned vacations - my upcoming one to Colorado is like, a cheap flight to Denver a rental car for a week, and some campsite rentals. Theirs are flying to FL, a cruise ship, where they are booking extra stuff, and it just sounds... Stressful. And expensive. Because I have a decent amount of time left after this, I am pondering where my America The Beautiful pass can get me. I think I am going to check fares for September after kids are in school. Gotta get max value out of it!
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May 7, 2024 18:36
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 19:08 |
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Oh, which bridge? That is the direction I am coming from. I visited a provincial park (outside of Kingston) last year, and kept walking by these insane 'lake held back by a wall' bits on the path and it was not until I left did I piece together they were beaver dams. Seems weird to me that maintained trails and dams work.
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May 8, 2024 14:21
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