After leaving Moab, we drive to the Needles Overlook, a viewpoint high above the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. The plateau below us is stretching out for miles until it fades into the haze at the horizon. After taking pictures of the panorama in all directions (270° view!), we drive on to Mesa Verde National Park.

We arrive there shortly after noon but notice that most of the facilities and sights are closed for the season. So, we just take a 6-mile loop drive along the rim of a canyon. Along the roadside are the ruins of Anasazi houses from 600-1300 A.D. Some are primitive pit houses, not more than a hole in the ground that used to have a wooden roof; some are complex pueblos built on in rock alcoves in the canyon walls.

Nils takes a one-hour guided tour to one of the settlements nestled into the cliffs.

At 5 pm already, we drive into Cortez to get some dinner and check into our motel - a really slow day indeed!

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