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Storm Bridge over Cortez

Canyons of the Ancients ~ Hovenweep National Monument

Mesa Along the Highway to Cortez
Road to Cortez
Road to Cortez

 

 

We spent one night in Holbrook, AZ, and planned to head north to Canyonlands on highway 191. But the morning of departure we looked at the map and decided to move on to Gallup, NM and then up highway 491 to Cortez, CO.  These last minute decisions are not unusual for us. We usually travel by the “seat of our pants” because making advanced reservations is akin to a schedule… A schedule is what we prefer to avoid. Sometimes that can end up being a problem when you find yourself in a popular area, no boondocking available or allowed and private parks are full.  This area around Cortez is loaded with history and amazing ancestral dwellings.

We found a nice RV Park in Cortez, “La Mesa RV”, that offered Passport America, Escapee, Senior and Good Sam discounts (select one 🙂  The manager/owner, Shiree is not only delightful, she offered a great deal of information about landmarks and restaurants and those places only locals know about. This was a perfect location for our  base-camp for all the places that were a “must see” on our list within 50 miles of Cortez. When you are in Cortez be sure to check out this RV park first. Close to shopping and historic downtown and not more than a mile down the road is a very nice city park with a huge dog park attached.

Our stops included:

 

  • Hovenweep National Monument
  • Mesa Verde National Park
  • The Anasazi Heritage Center
  • Canyons of the Ancients National Monument
  • Sand Canyon & Rock Creek Trails
  • The Cortez Municipal Airport
  • The Towns of Delores and Mancos, Colorado

 

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