Fresh from our first night's stay at the super deluxe Comfort Inn in Cortez, we went back out to Four Corners to get our "feet in four states" pics. Here you go:

The monument itself is actually within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation, so there were lots of locals there selling everything from beautiful handmade pottery and jewelry to plastic junk clearly imported from China. We met this cool lady selling the pottery that her husband, daughter and son-in-law made and she told us all about the process of making it. She also explained the meaning behind the etchings and how to tell if the crafts are authentic.

Next it was on to Mesa Verde National Park. This is the only national park established to protect man-made artifacts. The park is home to hundreds of cliff-dwellings, sites where the ancient ancestors of the Pueblo Indians actually built small (and sometimes not so small) villages into the sides of mountains and cliffs. After you pass through the park entrance gate, you spend the next 30 minutes winding your way up the mountain to the flat mesa top. We spent our afternoon learning general information at the museum and checking out the more popular sites on the larger Chapin Mesa. After awhile it started to rain, so we bought our tickets to a Ranger-led tour for tomorrow and headed back down the mountain and back into Cortez for dinner.

Serious props to the city of Cortez and their thoughtfulness in putting together a restaurant dining guide that included menus for every eatery in town. We ended up at an unusual duel level restaurant called "Lotsa Pasta, That'sa Pizza" specializing in all things pizza and noodle. I had Japanese soba noodles with tofu and vegetables and Zach chose their special of the day, all-you-can-eat spaghetti and added broccoli. No Olive Garden mini-portions here, we both had more than we could finish.

We finished out the day doing a little laundry and swimming in the indoor pool. Sometimes hotels really are better.