Amazed.

Today was wonderful. We spent our first travel-free day exploring some of the beautiful nature surrounding Mark’s house. We visited the Anasazi Heritage Center in the morning, where we took a short hike up to a spectacular view overlooking the Dolores River. We also got to see a little of Escalante Pueblo, a Pueblo housing structure from the twelfth century that still stands on the top of the hill. Unfortunately, it was mostly covered in snow. It was still neat to see, though.

From there we went to Mesa Verde, where we spent the entirety of the afternoon. We were all truly amazed. The weather (lots of snow) meant that a lot of the trails were closed. However, we had really great timing and got to take the only guided tour that was available. Our tour guide was spectacular and took us on a steep, half-mile hike to Spruce Tree House, which is one of the many preserved Pueblo cliff-dwellings that are tucked away in Mesa Verde. We were all really shocked to see how well structures from roughly 700 years were preserved, naturally, because of their positioning under the cliffs. It was a truly beautiful day; perfect weather, amazing scenery, and impressive Pueblo ruins. Amazing.

We’re spending the evening in. We just watched a video that Mark directed/produced from one of his previous visits to Rock Point. I’m glad I got to see it so that I have some idea now of what to expect. We’re looking into ways to link to the video from our blog, but we’ll see if we’re tech-savvy enough to execute that. The rest of the night will be spent watching A Thief of Time and multitasking that with working on our E-ports. Tomorrow, we have plans to meet with Carol at Rock Point and scope out the situation. Hopefully, we’ll do some brainstorming and have a better idea of how we can contribute to the classrooms we visit next week. We’ll also be assessing our housing situation and figuring out what we need to bring with us on Sunday. Though the video was great, I’m looking forward to getting a firsthand view of what Rock Point is all about. We’ll also be stopping by some other natural landmarks; Rock Point is near the four corners, so I’m sure there’s plenty to see. But for now, it’s E-port time! Wish us luck.