We left Pueblo, Colorado and our RV to drive to Cortez, Colorado. We will be staying in Holiday Inn Express rooms for the next two days. Our goal was to see more of Colorado and to try to see Mesa Verde National Park, Four Corners National Monument, and Canyons of the Ancients. Highway 160 is a great highway. Unfortunately, Mesa Verde and Four Corners were both closed. The rational is to protect the workers at the national park from the Corona virus. Four Corners is managed by the Navajo Indian tribe and there have been many deaths due to Corona within the tribe. In fact, the governor of New Mexico has sealed off the town of Gallop, New Mexico because of the large number of deaths within the Hopi and Navajo Indian tribes. The roads in and out of Gallop have been closed.

On the drive, the views were awesome. We also saw Treasure Falls, Pagosa Springs, Chimney Rock National Monument, and so many wonderful valleys between huge mountains covered with snow. You can see some of the things we saw on the photo part of the blog. Lisa and I both agree that, in most cases, the photos can't show the complete grandeur of what we are seeing in person. Treasure Falls is very pretty and running swift. It is located right after we crested the summit of Wolf Pass and the Wolf Pass Ski Resort. As you descend, your come to a huge, beautiful valley and the falls is right at the top of the valley.

We thought that the Canyons of the Ancients would be a huge area that we could drive through and then takes some hikes. It turned out to be a visitor center that was closed and a paved, sidewalk hike of about a half mile total. The views at the top of the hike were extremely nice and the ruins were very well maintained. The views of McPhee Reservoir were awesome. We also learned a lot about the different plants of the region on the hike.

We drove back to Cortez to our room to relax and prepare for tomorrows trip to Telluride and Ouray, Colorado. This is going to be the highlight of the trip as we travel to altitudes way above the tree-line. Our Holiday Inn Express room is very nice, but we have lost quite a few benefits. The pool is closed. You can only use the elevator with your own group. The breakfast normally served has been cancelled. If you stay for more than one day, you will not get any room service for new towels or beds made; you have to go to the front desk for more towels. There is no "stay over" service. The laundry and fitness center are closed and their snack shop is closed. Coffee is only available in the room, and any other food has to be delivered or you can go out for curbside service. We will be glad when this virus situation is put behind us. We only hope that these do not become the normal ways of doing business out fear.