Short Stop at Chimney Rock - one of America's Newest National Monuments.

One of the things we wanted to do was hit unplanned stops along the way. We stopped in Alamosa so that Molly could recharge with an iced coffee (yes, Paul had one too) from Milagro Cafe.   As we were traveling to Mesa Verde, we noticed Chimney Rock National Monument on the map book and decided to stop by. Molly was driving.  To be honest, the road was pretty steep and I was not feeling very comfortable ... not because of her driving, she did great.  My mind kept wandering over the edge and I was REALLY uncomfortable with how how steep the drop off was.  Unlike St. Mary's Glacier where our breaks were smoking trying to get down, we made it without smoke and drama!

Chimney Rock is located on Southern Ute Indian Tribe Land and we later found out that it is one of the countries newest National Monuments.  The sign along the main road said that it was "OPEN", but unfortunately when we arrived, the gate was closed.  Here are a few pictures from the gate:

It really does look like a chimney ...

We left and headed towards Durango, CO and stopped at Nini's Taqueria for tacos.  The town had  a working passenger railroad and had a really cool vibe with music and people just outside walking around. The food was a little too spicy for the kids, but Paul and Molly really liked it.  The fresh salsa was a hit.  After a treat at Cold Stone Creamery, we kept on plugging along towards Mesa Verde.