MBCA ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGIONAL EVENT
to MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK
and FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT
Cortez, Colorado
September 9, 10, 11, 2016
ITINERARY
FRIDAY, September 9
A block of rooms has been reserved for the Mercedes-Benz Club for Friday and Saturday nights at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel, 2121 East Main Street, Cortez 81321, located at far east end of town. Main Street is the principal east-west thoroughfare through town and is the same as US Highway 160.
· Make your own reservations by telephone as soon as possible, but not later than August 9, to secure the group rate of $100 a night, plus 9.3% in various taxes. Phone 1-970-565-6000, or toll free 1-800-315-2621. Tell the reservation person that you are part of the Mercedes-Benz Club. Breakfast is included in your room fee.
· If you plan to take a ranger-guided tour on Saturday (details below), be sure to arrive in town before 5:00 pm Friday and drive to the Colorado Welcome Center, 928 East Main Street, to buy tickets for Saturday’s tour. You may also buy any tour ticket on Saturday at the welcome center in Mesa Verde NP, but buying on Friday will assure you get a place on the tour that you want.
· Friday dinner will be on your own. There are several good restaurants in Cortez to tempt you. Type “restaurants in cortez co” in the Google search box to see a list.
· Friday evening at 7:30 will be our first of two hospitality social gatherings at the “Breakfast Room” (also called “The Great Room”) inside the Holiday Inn. Finger food and beverages, alcohol and otherwise, will be served as part of your already paid event fee.
SATURDAY, September 10
Expect to pay $10 per vehicle for the park entrance fee. If one person in the vehicle presents a senior America The Beautiful parks pass, entrance into the park is free for up to four adults in the same vehicle.
· The park ranger has recommended the Cliff Palace Tour as the easiest and most popular. The cost is $4 per person. Cliff Palace is Mesa Verde's Largest Cliff Dwelling.
· This one-hour, ranger-guided tour involves climbing five, 8-10 foot ladders, on a 100-foot vertical climb. Total walking distance is about 1/4-mile round-trip. The tour begins at Cliff Palace Overlook, a 23-mile, one-hour drive from the Visitor and Research Center. Tours leave every half hour between 9:00 and 6:00.
· For those who decline to take a guided tour, the ranger recommended the Mesa Top Loop drive and/or the museum at the south end of the park. Many sites can be seen after short walks from your car. The entire park can also be explored from your car with brief photo walks here and there.
More information can be found on the park website. http://www.nps.gov/meve/ index.htm
· Saturday evening at 6:00 we will meet for dinner at Stonefish Sushi & More at 16 West Main Street, a mile west of our hotel, phone 970-565-9244. Despite the name, the restaurant serves a variety of excellent food in addition to sushi. Dinner will be at your own cost. Street parking will be available on Main, Market or Chestnut Streets, the latter two on either side of the restaurant. An outdoor patio has been reserved for us.
· Saturday evening at 7:30 will be our second hospitality social gatherings in the same room inside our hotel where we met for Friday’s gathering. As before, finger food and beverages, alcohol and otherwise, will be served as part of your already paid event fee.
SUNDAY, September 11
A bonus trip is in store for those who want to drive to the only point in the United States common to four states, appropriately named Four Corners Monument. After Sunday’s breakfast we check out of the hotel and say goodbye to friends old and new or join a caravan to Four Corners. See details below.
http://www.navajonationparks.org/htm/fourcornershours.htm
FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT
General Admission - $5.00 per person (Cash Only Please)
Ages 6 or younger – Free
40 miles southeast of Cortez, Colorado
Station Hours, Peak Season (Friday of Memorial Weekend to Sept. 15) 8:00am - 8:00pm, 7 Days a week
Four Corners Monument Park Office
P.O. Box 861
Teec Nos Pos, AZ 86514
CONTACT INFORMATION: KAREN YAZZIE, PARK MANAGER (928) 206-2540
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