Lowry Pueblo and Anasazi Museum

One great side trip during our Mesa Verde stay was to the Anasazi museum, near Dolores, Colorado. The exhibits were very well done, and they had a scavenger hunt for the kids to do that had them really engaged.

Our favorite parts were the hands-on activities, such as grinding corn, checking out specimens under the microscopes, and trying our hand at weaving a rug. My daughter and I had a blast doing that, and I may be daydreaming about setting up a loom when we settle down again.

Afterwards we set out for the nearby Lowry Pueblo in the Canyons of the Ancients.

This particular pueblo and kiva were impressive in their size, and how well they were preserved. You wouldn't know that you were headed to a national monument when you set down the gravel road to get here--it's barely marked and you feel as if you've certainly made a wrong turn. 

This is one of many sites you'll find around the area, as they seem to be quite abundant in the four corners region. I think that if we had breezed through Mesa Verde we would have been keen to explore more, but as it was we'd saturated ourselves and had to call it a day so that we could spend some time lying down, sampling some Colorado beers, and getting the kids some ice cream.