Chimney Rock and Companion Rock – The 1,000 year old ruins are sacred to the Puebloan people.

A look at the San Juan Mountain Range, heading into Durango.  There’s some good snowboarding there.

This is Littles listening to “Intergalactic Planetary” by the Beastie Boys.  She really likes being the robot in the music video.  This was also a few minutes after she took a pee on the side of the road.  

This is my reaction to the word “fluff.”  We were talking about words our parents and grandparents didn’t like.  The wife told me her grandmother didn’t like the word “fart” so she told her to call them “fluffs.”  I giggled for 5 minutes after that revelation.

There are two seasons in Colorado.  One is called “Winter,” and the other is called “construction.”  Both can cause delays.

After an hour and a half in the car and only one side-of-the-road potty break later, WE MADE IT! 

Here’s the family at the visitor’s center.  Littles is still excited, Tiny is thinking about lunch.  We thought our journey was done, but little did we realize it was only the beginning.  The visitor’s center marks the entrance of the park, but the first major stop is still 45 minutes away.  Let’s get back into the Pilot!

There have been some fires in the park during the last 20 years or so.  It made for an interesting landscape at times.

Before we went to see the ruins, we needed some lunch.  Here’s our view from where we stopped.  Littles called it, “The edge of the mountain.”

Here is our lunch spot.  The wife packed a sack lunch of PB&J.  It hit the spot on a fantastic day!

Here we are with our much-needed feast.  Little’s is already getting a bit tired.  She’s hiding in the bottom right of this photo.  When she gets “hangry,” no photos please.  

Tiny really enjoyed her lunch! 

After eating, Littles needed a snuggle with dad.  Yes, that’s her head in the bonnet.

Here’s a better view of “snuggle time.”  

These ruins are called “Spruce Tree House.”  From AD 600 to 1300 the Ancestral Pueblo made this region their home.

Another look at “Spruce Tree House.”

The family in front of “Spruce Tree House.”  The kids have been troopers so far, but as you can see, they’re clearly losing interest and it’s probably time to go potty again.

Due to their waning interest, we got the girls back in the car.  Littles is zoning out to “Frozen,” and Tiny is pumped to have her bottle and passy.

The wife and I wanted to see more ruins, so we took turns getting out of the car while the other stayed with the kids.  Here’s a panoramic view of our next stop.  This is called “Square Tower House.”  The ruins are in the bottom right.

Here’s a better look at “Square Tower House.”  It’s really impressive and it made me wonder how the heck they got up there.  That 4 story structure just to the right of center is the tallest ruin in the park.

The next ruin is called “Sun Point View.”  There are about 8 different settlements tucked into these cliffs.  It’s really amazing.

This is a closer look at “Sun Point View.”  The craftsmanship is just amazing.  Park rangers told us that there has been some restoration done over the years, but 90% of the ruins are original.  

Here is an interesting photo I took.  I put my iPhone up to one of those tourist telescopes and snapped this photo.  Not too shabby.  

After trading places for the last few stops, the wife and I decided we needed proof that we saw these ruins together.  So, we both jumped out, with the Pilot about 10 feet away, and took this picture.  The joys of parenthood.

One the way back, we found this little gem.  It’s called Hesperus Ski Area.  It’s 1 lift, it has about 800 feet of vertical feet, and it gets about 150 inches of snow per year.  Snowboarding season is almost done, but that doesn’t mean I have to stop thinking about it.

Another view of Hesperus Ski Area.  Lift tickets are $39. 

After spending most of the day in the Pilot, we thought the girls could use a break to get out their “sillys.”  This was the perfect spot in Durango.  After an hour of playing, the girls were ready for the trek home.

Chimney Rock and Companion Rock on the way home.

We finally made it back to the condo and we must have done a good job tiring out the girls.  We had some mac and cheese for dinner and then we took bathes.  Littles is out like a light.  

Tiny is out for the count too.  I do want to point out that her crib is in one of the bathrooms.  It’s dark, quiet, and she sleeps through the night.  We’ll take it!