There are many ways to explore Mesa Verde, be it by car, hiking trail, or guided tour. Like many National Parks, Mesa Verde boasts a dramatic scenic route with numerous vista pullouts and interpretive displays. Even visitors with severely limited time can enjoy a quick taste of the park by driving the Mesa Top Loop to wet their appetite for a longer visit. Hiking trails across the park highlight not only the remarkable structures in the park but the beautiful landscape.
Leaving the Superstition Mountains, we made a not-so-bee-line for Tucson, Arizona. In an effort to avoid tiresome highways, we happened across Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. This collection of ancient structures is remarkable for the size of the titular, free standing "Great House."
Some stops we plan. Others we do not. We were speeding along highway 8 to the California border so it was not as if we were anticipating any stops. Then I saw the sign for the Painted Rock Petroglyph Site and we had to stop.
When I was a wily ankle biter set loose in the school yard, I had little interest in the play set or sports games raging around me. Instead, I would race up and down the steep hills that flanked my school, much to the chagrin of liability minded school administrators. Some friends and I would dig in the dirt and ferry water from the drinking fountains to mini construction sites. We mixed dirt and water into mud and heaped it into mounds. I have no idea where the idea originated. We just preferred making things over playing games or waiting in line for the slide.