COLORADO

Four Corners
Mesa Verde
Police Run-In
UFO Tower
Police Museum
Trail Ride
Garden of the Gods
Largest Hercules Beetle
Celestial Seasonings Tea
Morrison Ghost Tour
Coors Brewing Co.
Off-Roading

Four Corners Monument

(Corner of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah)

Excerpts from Kristy:
The beginning of any road trip is cause for excitement, so perhaps that is what charged our journey to Four Corners with so much energy. More likely it was the anticipation of a truly commercialized tourist attraction that everyone has heard of. Having missed this mecca on our first trip around the country, there was no doubt that it would be a stop on this journey.

Driving from Denver to Four Corners took about 10 hours through a diverse countryside ranging from barren areas (my particular favorite) to towering mountains that dominated the landscape. I think I spent the first part of the trip constantly repeating, "Are you sure those are real? They don't look real. They're too big."

The closer we drew to Four Corners the more barren the landscape became and the more I questioned how many people would actually be out here in the middle of nowhere. After all, Four Corners consists of a marker indicating where the 4 states meet and that's about it.

Pulling up to the large billboards much like the ones that drew us to "The Thing" in Arizona, we journeyed down the bumpy road to the monument and discovered an actual line to pay $2 to see the monument. This is when we realized that we had found a tourist mecca. A row of wooden booths featuring Indian wares completely surrounded one side of the monument. The other side consisted of a gift shop, complete with Four Corners postcards and t-shirts. And the two concession stands even had snow cone machines.

Boy scouts ran around the property and tourists rushed up to the monument with their cameras. The Indians had thoughtfully built a wooden platform, so that people could capture pictures of the Four Corners from above. The stop itself was good for about 30 minutes max. Despite the Indian wares and the lure of greasy food, there's not much else to do but snap a picture and dance around in the four corners for a few seconds. I say seconds because there is a line to get your picture taken on the Four Corners. Of course we had to get in line at least 4 times, to properly document this moment with all of our cameras.

This is a true tourist mecca of the United States. It is at least 2 hours out of the way for anyone (unless you're a Native American on this reservation). Looking at the monument, perusing the Native American wares and getting your picture taken totals about 20-30 minutes. The sun is hot and there are swarms of bugs. So, where does this rank on the "Roadchix List of Things to See"? I'd have to say at the top. There's nothing like a true tourist trap to get the juices flowing and to kick off a road trip!