As the sun rose, so did we… gingerly. This is the earliest we’ve woken up, but we’re determined to get to Mesa Verde on time. Because of our early exit time, we had to forgo the breakfast part of the Bob Inn Bed & Breakfast. Instead, the owner provided us with healthy cut-up fruit in the refrigerator, which we ate before hitting the road.

Before leaving Santa Fe, we ventured into the center of town to see the oldest active church in the country, the San Miguel Mission. Supposedly built in 1610, it has been destroyed and rebuilt a number of times: destroyed in 1640, rebuilt five years later in 1645; destroyed in 1680, rebuilt thirty years later in 1710. Although this petite chapel is still open today, it was closed at the early hour we arrived. On top of that, clouds set in and it started drizzling, so we spent only a couple of minutes observing before making our way to the Colorado state border.

About an hour before seeing the Colorado sign, we spotted what seemed to be a wolf and other figures etched into large cliffs along US Route 84. Whether these carvings were man made or are naturally occurring and just a coincidence, we got out of the car, stretched our legs and took some panoramic photographs.

The sign for Colorado deviated from the norm. It was massive, on the left-hand side of the road and made entirely of wood. It also snuck “Colorful” in between “Welcome to” and “Colorado.” Since we were making good time, we decided to take some extra photographs in front of a nearby cattle crossing sign. Prior to traveling through the American West, I’ve never seen such a road sign, but it’s as common as deer signs are in the northeast. While there’ve been a bunch of these yellow caution signs, I have yet to see any cattle roaming these almost traffic-less roads.

From the Colorado state border, we should make it to Mesa Verde by 1:00 PM and be able to explore the pueblo ruins before setting up camp for the very first time.