Lazy Days in Durango, Cortez, and Mancos, CO

After days and days of hiking through Utah, we took a side trip through to the southwest corner of Colorado. We started out in Durango, and had great timing as our visit coincided with their annual art festival. (We always seem to be just a little too early or too late for local celebrations, dang.) 

We also seemed to have given our cameras a rest, as we took almost no pictures in Durango. We loved this city though; it has a great, walkable downtown filled with yummy restaurants, fun shops, and galleries. Everyone there was also super friendly, which made the visit enjoyable, too.

My favorite shop there was the Urban Market (http://urbanmarketonline.com/).

After Durango we headed into Cortez, as it's a good base for visiting Mesa Verde. Cortez has a great recreation center, which was a relief on our first rainy day in town. The rest of downtown isn't quite as charming as nearby cities, but they do have a local museum  that's worth checking out.

We had the water slide almost all to ourselves.

Someone really missed being in the water every day!

The nearby town of Mancos was worth an hour or two to explore. It's very picturesque, and you can cover the four blocks of downtown rather quickly. The farmer's market was just one farmer and a folding table, but we were able to pick up some tomatoes and basil to go with dinner while the kids enjoyed the local park. 

Next up, Mesa Verde National Park!