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Old 11 Jun 24, 01:04 PM  
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cornishfrogboy
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Originally Posted by OB1LukeLucas View Post
Another great day, I love that Dan has grown a beard for Forest Gump 😆
I am not actually certain that this is the case!
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Old 11 Jun 24, 01:10 PM  
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Originally Posted by Pep View Post
Another bonus find with the free to enter fort you're doing well with these little finds so far. I think I'dhave done a 3 point turn before paying another entrance for some sign telling me exactly where I knew I was and had already been 🤨
That monument is seemingly a bit of a joke, because in truth, nobody knows for certain where the actual4 Corner point is, given the survey methods of the time.. as in that link I posted.

It is a shame that some will seek profit from absolutely anyone and any thing, particularly when they can have no confidence that the item they are selling is even authentic. This lot may even be distantly related to Del Boy Trotter!

I am proud of the decision we made on this occasion.
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Old 11 Jun 24, 01:23 PM  
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Originally Posted by anji View Post
Good day! Love the horseback riding - we did it in the Grand Canyon years ago and I'd love to do it again. The Fort was a find but I would definitely have left her to her own beliefs too We're doing a 3 state marker on our trip but I will check the accuracy/any price!
You're making good headway - are you the sole driver?
The Horse Riding has become a bit of a thing, but whilst Mandie can clearly ride a Horse, Dan, Matt and I merely sit on one and let it more or less do as it likes.

Whilst saying that I only rode in the Rockies, Hawaii, Tombstone and Monument Valley sounds impressive, I am in no doubt that in each case, the Horse was actually in charge.

I am the sole driver, mainly because Matt has not passed his test, Dan would in probality not get insurance and Mandie has neither driven LHD or on the right side of the road.

By contrast, I drove extensively on exercises in Europe, Lived in Germany for 3 years & Canada for 6 months and have in addition, averaged about 1500 miles on each of our previous USA vacations.

Mandie is a named second driver in case of an emergency, but really does not fancy it!

The Lady in the Fort made me fully understand why so many missionaries in the 19th Century were murdered by indigenous peoples Worldwiide, imposing the ‘Will of the Lord’, whether it was wanted or otherwise.
I support Arsenal, but would never try to convert a Tottenham Fan 😃.
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Old 11 Jun 24, 01:39 PM  
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Any pics of what you saw on the horse riding trip.

We are doing the guided all day tour in September, when you get up close to the mittens etc

Done it a couple of years ago. Very thought provoking and how badly the Indians were treated by the 'white' man!

Personally Ł5 a head to visit such an iconic area is a small price to pay!
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Old 11 Jun 24, 01:59 PM  
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Originally Posted by TractorBoy View Post
Any pics of what you saw on the horse riding trip.

We are doing the guided all day tour in September, when you get up close to the mittens etc

Done it a couple of years ago. Very thought provoking and how badly the Indians were treated by the 'white' man!

Personally Ł5 a head to visit such an iconic area is a small price to pay!
The issue for us on the Ł5pp (actually Ł6.50) was that it was on top of the Ł400 that we were already paying for the Horse Riding under the same grouping.
These ‘small fees’ certainly add up rather quickly.

That guided all day tour in September sounds interesting. Is that on foot or in a vehicle? We did see some large 4x4 Vehicles with open decks on the back, but none of them moving on the area that we rode on.

As you know, the earth in this area is very, very fine and even on Horses that walked in the main and with just an occasional trot, we were kicking up a fair amount of dust.


I agree that the Native Americans were very poorly treated by ‘The White Man’ and a part of me wishes that they had succeeded in driving them from their lands.
I tend to regard Crazy Horse and co as National Heroes who fought valiantly against people intent on destroying their way of life in ways that were at times, genocidal in the pursuit of land and associated wealth.
https://www.nps.gov/articles/the-tra...now%20Oklahoma.
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Old 11 Jun 24, 06:27 PM  
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The all day is in an open 4x4, the Navajo will not allow you to walk on their land, so it's either via a tour or using your own vehicle.

Obviously during the tours you can get out and walk the areas with the guide.

The morning is the 17 mile drive and beyond.

The afternoon is areas that are only accessible via the tours.

As we are staying at the View hotel will pay the $8 per person at the gate before driving to the hotel. The pass lasts us until we leave the following day.
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Old 12 Jun 24, 04:40 AM  
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The View looked rather nice. We drove almost up to it in order to reach our Horses.

Navajo now also own Gouldings Lodge.
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Old 12 Jun 24, 06:36 AM  
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Post #10 now complete and ready to view. Mesa Verde, Petrified Wood and the Wigwam Motel!
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Old 12 Jun 24, 07:21 AM  
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Originally Posted by cornishfrogboy View Post
Reserved Our first vacation failure (so far) and Wigwam Motel. 11 June 2024.

Today we awoke to a snag! All though we were up and awake in our Cortez pre-positioning Hotel for Mesa Verde, we had encountered snags when booking our tickets to the Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde. We had wanted an early slot at 0930 and exactly 14 days previously at 1600 Cornish Time (0800 Mesa Verde time) we had been paused to strike, the very second that the tickets became available. They were all gone and up until 1330. It would seem that all of the Local Tour Companies get ‘first dibs (as opposed to DIBBS) and then resell tours at vast profit. Not happy as with 45 people on each slot at half hourly intervals throughout the day.
It is rather interesting to compare the price of these advertised tours on Tripadvisor with the $8 pp we paid to the Park Rangers who actually conduct the ‘money shots’ of the Tours. You can only see Cliff Palace, when escorted by a Ranger and in addition, entry to the rest of the park is only subject to the standard National Park Fee.
We knew as we booked, that this was likely to cause us problems later on this particular day!

We arrived at Mesa Verde at 1100, used our Annual National Park Pass (purchased for $80 at Grand Canyon a few days before) and spent the next hour and a half following the meandering and only route through the Park, stopping and photographing various, clearly marked viewing points.

The views were expansive and far reaching.

Eventually we reached the High Point of the park at 8572’

The views were even astonishinger.. into 4 different States 😀.


We then moved on to the Far View Restaurant, where 2 Scoops of excellent and generously served Ice Cream came to a remarkable $7. I had Huckleberry and White Chocolate with Raspberry.



Then it was time to move on… to Cliff Palace and our appointment with a Native American Park Ranger. This meeting occurred (along with 41 others aging from around 6 years to 70 years) at the Cliff Palace viewing point… where we had these views as we waited.

Across the Canyon.


Into Cliff Palace, formerly home to 100-150 Pueblo Native Americans.

We descended down some very narrow (but safe) , steps into the Cliff Palace, where our guide gave a very detailed account of the history of the Palace, from 1200 when built, to the present day. When asked when this was discovered, he stated that although the Wetheralls claimed discovery in the 1800s, people had been aware of the Pueblo Sites throughout millennia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa_Verde_National_Park
Above is a link to a Wiki entry that provides much information about the area and its history.

The tour of the actual ruins was very controlled and only after a briefing. We were warned not to take any fluids other than water and no food. We were also told to not touch any of the structures.

The briefing.




And then, all too soon (again), the tour was over and it was time to leave.. by finishing our walk across the front of the Cliff Palace and then climbing a combination of Steps and Ladders in order to get back to the Car Park.


Dan finishes his ‘Climb out’.

Now, it was time to go.. and as it was by now 1500 , with National Parks closing at 1700, we knew that we had no chance of making the Petrified Forest. I feel sure that all those Ticket Touts who snap up all of the Mesa Verde Tickets for earlier in the day and flog Tours at $175pp inc lunch, would not care in the slightest.

We had already driven 50 miles and I now had a further 237 to look forward to. We drove past the closed Petrified Forest,

Eventually we arrived at the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook for 1830 hours (Arizona does not change its clocks seasonally and thus, we had lost and hour).

We pulled up at the Wigwam Motel to see that a group of a Dozen Bikers had arrived seconds before us. Mandie had never been keen on this 2 Star Hotel selection and this seemed to reinforce her position. The actual site, however looked everything that I had been eagerly expecting.
After queueing for a few minutes behind the Bikers (who were down from Michigan and were rather pleasant) we checked in to our pair of Authentic Wigwams… Authentic other than that they were clearly made of Concrete.

Wigwam no3 .

The inside. Whilst Mandie felt the place looked tired, I had to disagree. I felt like we had stepped back in time to the 1950s and almost expected to hear Bill Hailey on a Radio.

I went outside and took a few Photographs.





You might notice something rather relevant to my earlier disappointment in this image.

And this one.

Petrified Trees everywhere that I looked (well almost).


Time for Dinner and we chose Butterfield Stage Co Steak House, around 50 yards from the Wigwam Motel.
It looked tired. on entering.. it looked tired.
We ordered Sirloins Steaks all round and with the Salad bar and Diet Cokes to drink… with trepidation.

My rare, Sirloin was cooked to absolute perfection, rare yet melt in the mouth. This was actually one of the very best Sirloins that I have ever tasted, with an emphasis on thickness, rather than covering the plate.
$158, rounded up to $180 to our very friendly and attentive Waitress.
The best things in life do not always come in the most impressive wrappings!

It was now time to move back to our accommodation. As we walked, we took these images..




To finish my day, I returned to the Wigwam reception and looked at a few more Petrified Forest Trees… hundreds of them!


After seeing this lot.. and I have only shown around 10% of what was at the Wigwam, I really do not believe that I have greatly missed out on the Petrified Forest at all!

287 Miles driven
5550 Steps.
And that is goodnight from me!
How annoying that all the early Mesa Verde tickets were snapped up by Ticket touts 😡 it looked amazing anyway absolutely breathtaking views & the ice creams were a steal too
I’m loving the Wigwam Hotel, very cool & cute & it just shows you can’t judge a book by its cover, I was worried for your dinner 😳glad it was a winner 👌😋
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Old 12 Jun 24, 09:17 AM  
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The Wigwam hotel looks very impressive…. In the dark 😂 hope you all got a good night’s rest without any trouble from the bikers!
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