A Summer Colorado Getaway

We've just returned from a fantastic family vacation in Colorado. We chose to visit the Four Corners area of Colorado because Mr.Perfect and I wanted to take Trouble to Mesa Verde National Park. Mesa Verde is a park dedicated to preserving the ruins and cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloan people. Trouble has been telling us he wants to be an archeologist when he grows up. Yes, he has seen Indiana Jones one too many times.

While away from home we have enjoyed renting homes instead of staying in hotels. Sure we don't get fresh towels everyday and no one makes the bed for us but we get so much more like tons of space, a full kitchen, a washer & dryer and it's WAY cheaper. I also love the experience of living like a local. For our Mesa Verde vacation I found Casa Cielo through HomeAway, a site that connects homeowners around the world with travelers. Casa Cielo offered us a peaceful and relaxing home base for a fun filled vacation.

Casa Cielo is very close to the Anasazi Heritage Center, an archaeological museum for the Anasazi culture and other Native cultures in the Four Corners region. Trouble loved all the hands on activities and hiking up to the excavated archaeological site overlooking McPhee Reservoir.

We had fun exploring the amazing Mesa Verde National Park, imagining what life was like so long ago for the people of this region.

Riding the historic Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad was one of our favorite experiences. Besides offering amazingly beautiful views of Colorado the vintage steam train takes you back in time as it has been in operation for 130 years.

Trouble had the experience of his life paddling through the rapids on our rafting trip down the Animas River in Durango!

We loved every single second of our time in Colorado from Casa Cielo, our home away from home, to each exciting and interesting excursion.