Blog

The Colorado Plateau: Part 2 - Monument Valley & Mesa Verde National Park

Our trip to the Colorado Plateau began with a day at The Grand Canyon.

As we continued to drive northward into Utah we watched the landscape change. Our tour director began to talk to us a lot about Indian reservations and the practice of sending American Indians in the late 1800s and early 1900s to Indian Boarding Schools.

How had I missed this part of American history?

We watched a movie with Judy Garland - The Harvey Girls - and learned the history of the railroad coming through the west.

So many movies have been filmed in Monument Valley. My son said he felt like he was in the movie “Cars”.

I remarked to my husband that the kids were learning more on this trip than they ever could have sitting at home reading history books (even the best living history books). There is nothing like schooling on the road and traveling with an expert guide!

(Read Part I to hear about how we experienced the American Southwest this summer with Trafalgar’s Colorful Trails of the Southwest Tour.)

The Colorado Plateau: Part 2 - Monument Valley & Mesa Verde National Park — our itinerary and learning resources

Monument Valley

When we arrived in Monument Valley (in the heart of a Navajo reservation) it was late afternoon. The weather was getting cool and it was quite windy. Our director handed out bandanas, and (as you can see) my son used his to its full potential.

Learn About Monument Valley

I knew from our itinerary that we would be having a jeep tour of Monument Valley and then eating dinner prepared by the Navajo, with a little bit of music afterwards.

None of us were very familiar with Monument Valley, but quickly recognized it from so many iconic photographs we had seen over the years.

Monument Valley is like a national park, but it falls within the jurisdiction of the Navajo Nation's 27,425-square-mile (71,000 square kilometers) territory in the Four Corners region of the United States. Of that 17 million acres, more than 91,000 acres are set aside as Monument Valley Tribal Park — a space larger than Arches National Park. - source

Taking a tour led by a Navajo was a wonderful experience. We were able to go down into Monument Valley, off of the paved roads, and learn the names of the different monuments and a more detailed history.

Learn About Monument Valley

I was, again, very thankful for our Trafalgar guide (Gordon), because he was well versed in the history of this area. It is part of our nation’s history that I think we could easily gloss over or even miss.

I was sitting in the front of our tour bus on this day and asked our guide a lot of questions. He gave me book recommendations and subject areas to further research with the kids when we got home.

(I was in homeschool mama heaven!)

White people recognize the valley from the movies, but that’s the extent of it,” says Martin Begaye, program manager for the Navajo Parks and Recreation Department. “They don’t know about its geology, or its history, or about the Navajo people. Their knowledge is very superficial.”
- The Smithsonian Magazine

I’m so thankful we could go deeper - beyond the “superficial” knowledge, and really talk about the problems the Indians have faced over the past centuries, and the problems they still face today. Our guide mentioned Jim Thorpe - the football player - who had attended an Indian School in Pennsylvania. It was little things like this that kept my children engaged throughout our trip. (In fact, we are reading this book aloud right now because we wanted to find out more about Jim Thorpe and the schools.)

We needed to pinch ourselves a few times as we were riding in a jeep through Monument Valley. The beauty was overwhelming, especially with the sunset on the horizon. I never knew rocks could have so many beautiful colors. The kids were quiet - just taking it all in. We had been transported to a bygone era.

Learn About Monument Valley

We ate dinner outdoors - prepared by the Navajos - and enjoyed some entertainment - then we were on our way again.

Our guide showed us a movie as we traveled - a documentary about the Navajo Code Talkers of WWII. I had NO IDEA! We will be reading about the Code Talkers later this summer!

After Monument Valley we traveled further north. Our tour bus pulled over and our director said, “I’m pretty tired. Think I’ll go home now.”

None of us were sure what he meant, but it quickly became obvious that we were in the spot (Mexican Hat, Utah) where Forrest Gump decided to stop running and return home! There were cars pulled over on the side of the road, and people were standing in the middle of the road taking pictures.

Doesn’t it look familiar to you? Grant had to get out and run down the road. I’m a total dope because you know what I did? I cried. I loved that movie so much and it was overwhelming to me that we were in that spot and it was so very beautiful.

(Forrest Gump movie night is coming up soon!)

Mexican Hat, Utah - the site where Forrest Gump stopped running

We stayed that evening at the Desert Rose Inn (Bluff Utah) - but it was just a quick stop because we would be up and out the next morning at 7 a.m. and head to Mesa Verde National Park!

Mesa Verde National Park

Both of my children remembered reading many years ago (through some of the living books we had gotten in a Sonlight package) about the Anasazi cliff dwellings - those apartment style dwellings carved in the side of cliffs stick with a lot of people, I think!

Our guide pointed out that he would refer to this group of people as the Ancestral Puebloans.

Mesa Verde literally translates to “green table”, and as we were driving along the highway which borders one side of the park, you could see that long “green table” off to our side. We learned that these groups of Indians would scale the cliffs and create dwellings purely for self preservation. Farming was easier on the tops of the “tables” and enemies could be more easily spotted from a higher vantage point.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the intricacy and preservation of these cliff dwellings astounded all of us!

Learning Resources for Mesa Verde National Park - Cliff Dwellings
Learn About Mesa Verde National Park

The above picture was our lunch view that day! We found a covered picnic spot (that our tour director staked out for us) and sat for an hour just listening to the birds and looking at these dwellings. It’s a lot to take in when you are sitting in front of it.

This particular area is called Cliff Palace. Building here began in roughly 1275 CE - and by the end of the 13th century these canyons were EMPTY. How and why the people disappeared is still a mystery. Another sobering fact: roughly 50% of the children born in this area died before the age of five.

And - wherever there is a bookstore I am sure to be. The gift shop had quite a good separate bookstore - I picked up a few books (I’ve listed them among the resources below.).

Learn about Mesa Verde National Park

There could have been a lot more to see and do in Mesa Verde, but we had approximately 4 hours in the park.

Our tour, Colorful Trails of the Southwest, was designed to highlight many of the sites on the Colorado Plateau. We got a wonderful overview of the area, and I would love to go back one day and focus specifically on just a couple of the parks we were only able to briefly see. The biggest gift we received was being able to steep ourselves in Native American culture. We gained knowledge, appreciation, and a reverence for this group of people who have historically been marginalized all in the name of “progress”.



Subjects to explore:

  • Navajo Code Talkers of WWII

  • Indian Boarding Schools

  • The Harvey Girls

  • Railroad Expansion

  • Anasazi Cliff Dwellings - What happened to the people there?



Resources for Learning More About Monument Valley and Mesa Verde

This is Part II in the Colorado Plateau Series. Other posts can be found here:

Part I: The Grand Canyon

I’d love to hear if you’ve been to either and/or both of these places.

Tell me about it in the comments below!





The Joy of Raising Children Who Ponder

I’m thrilled to share a guest post today from my friend, Janet Newberry. Janet’s book Education by Design, Not Default has challenged much of my thinking about education and energized me as we face our last few years of home education.

This summer, my community of homeschool moms is reading Janet’s book and meeting to discuss how we can further homeschool by design and not by default.

It’s an important question - one that I think every homeschool parent (and all parents, really) need to be asking themselves.

I encourage you to pick up a copy of Janet’s book, listen to her podcast (Brave Love), and be encouraged as you read her words here today!

Ahhhh—summer.  

It’s here!

Summer, at its finest, is an invitation to take a deep breath and move slowly into leisure—instead of striving to measure up in all the ways the traditional school year often requires.

Taking a deep breath is a good first step into summer.  Our bodies need the permission that fresh air offers us to shift into a slower gear.  

Leisure is a good second step.  Remember leisure?  Experiences like fishing or needlework…painting or gardening?  

Leisure is:

  • a great book—read in a hammock. 

  • writing a letter—to someone you love so much you wouldn’t consider simply emailing.

  •   a quiet, slow hike—or a walk on the beach.

Leisure offers an experience of good, true, and beautiful.  Our souls need leisure.  Susie Larson says, “What happens in our souls, happens in our cells.”

Our bodies need leisure, too.

Leisure is different than entertainment. 

Often entertainment tells us what to think—and, often we engage in entertainment when we’re too tired to think for ourselves.  Having to be right all day has worn us out.  

Leisure is an invitation to…ponder. 

Ponder - A Definition

Pondering is not about being right.  Pondering is about considering and questioning.

Pondering is a journey…to wisdom and truth.  

One definition I found of the word “ponder” says “to weigh in the mind.”  Another says, “to consider something deeply and thoroughly; meditate.”

Pondering is a fairly new habit for me.  Before I pondered, I simply knew.  Or, I didn’t know—and I avoided, or pretended to know.  My shame story told me it wasn’t ok to be wrong.  I believed the lie that not knowing meant I didn’t fit in—or measure up.  Not being right was not being good enough.  Not being good enough was the edge of rejection for me. I was afraid to fail—so I was afraid to learn.

In my book, Education by Design, Not Default, I write this:

“I don’t remember much of what I learned in college, but I do remember this:  One professor said, ‘Confusion precedes real learning.  If you’re not confused, you already know.’

Education today is not kind to confusion.  Confusion is to be avoided.  Confusion invites fear, and shame, and hiding.  Confusion attracts bullies.  Confusion often ends up with a label.

When education is not kind to confusion, school is not a safe place to learn.

Confusion is a kind of (good) struggle.  When we are not left alone in our confusion, persevering produces maturity.”
— Janet Newberry (pp. 40-41)

I’m delighted to report that I find myself pondering quite a bit these days.  If I were to introduce myself at a “Perfectionist Anonymous” meeting, I might say, “Hi—I’m Janet.  I am recovering from always needing to be right.  I’m learning to live in the freedom of pondering.”

When my husband and I take walks together, he often hands me my phone—so I can voice record the ideas we discover when we ponder together.  Our walks—and our talks—are leisure.  Permission to ponder.

Pondering is a safe place—so it’s a good place to learn.

There is no fear in pondering.  Pondering is a like healing oil. It’s a maturing experience.  Truth sweeps away lies.  Learning grows in the fertile bed of confusion.  Wisdom settles in—and quiets our worry.

Childhood is designed as a season ripe for finding truth.  It is a time of growing up and finding our voice.  Confusion is the prelude to a fresh symphony—rather than an alarm that sounds because, “I don’t know.”

The Question

So, how do we raise children who linger—and enjoy the art of pondering? 

Perhaps it will require us to ponder the traditional aim of education—of recording scores of perfect performance…or something less.

Can I suggest a different aim?  I ask, because this is the summary of my 30+ years of research:

When we aim at the target of performance, relationships and maturity always suffer.  

When we aim at the target of supporting healthy relationships and maturity, performance goes off the charts.  

Will you ponder with me—the traditional performance target?  — and the potential of a different, transformational target?

What if we do not yet see education as it is designed to be experienced? What if we’ve lost sight of childhood—as it was designed to be experienced?

If there is real hope in aiming at a different target, we can cease looking for new ways to make a bull’s eye on the old target.  Performance isn’t evil; it truly is important.  Performance is simply a poor primary motive for children who are living in a season marked out in life as one of learning—not one of needing exemplary test scores.

I’m inviting you to ponder a new adventure in your own life—not just in the summer. And, I’m giving you permission to change your mind about the primary aim of education—in the hope of finding a better direction to lead our children.

The new invitation is to see two road signs on the path of childhood. As parents, we get to point out the fork in the road to our children. One sign points to a path that says, "Perform perfectly and life will work out perfectly." Another sign points to a different path—and reads, "Adventure awaits. Let’s discover freedom, together!”

Freedom - The Transformational Journey

Freedom is a transformational journey for our children—and, no one lives in freedom by themselves. Alone, we are all vulnerable to our blindspots--and the wisdom our own journey has yet to offer. 

The old aim in traditional education is bondage—to fear and shame. To get help, we need a label. To need help, there must be something wrong with us.

But God created Eve as a "help-mate." God says, "It's not good to be alone." We are wired to find deep satisfaction in being loved and loving others--not in our independent striving and perfection.

So, this is our challenge, in "all things READING" and "all things WRITING" and I predict "all things...." We have this destiny before us--to redeem childhood. 

We have the chance to help our children see the lies and find the truth—in a relationship with reading and math and science and history and art and nature and music. We get to help them know the truth about childhood, because knowing the truth about childhood will help them experience the truth about God...and about us...and about themselves.

Education by design is not a contest designed to see how well our children can remember vocabulary and make sense of pre-packaged questions on a comprehension test. Education is a feast—enjoyed with great books, like fine wine—designed to be delightful and delicious and deeply satisfying.

No one acquires a taste for feasting foods and fine wine on their own. The best affections are caught--not taught.

We get to be the ones that say to each child,

“Follow me. I’ve got you, kid. I’ve seen this coming for a long time. I know this is a challenge and I know you’ve got a pocket full of doubts. It’s ok that everything’s not ok. It’s ok that you’re going to stumble sometimes. Me, too. It’s good to be me, here with you. Adventure and love and mystery and romance awaits. We’re not going to sit this one out.

God has something for you and for me inside the pages of this book.  God has a treasure for you to discover in math—and science.  There is wisdom to be found in history. God has a destiny for you in this hurting world—to make a difference for good. Let’s discover what it is—and trust Him, together.”

My own heart has often considered Luke 2:19…with a whispered wow.  It’s the verse about Mary, after she’s watched the shepherds adore newborn Jesus in his baby bed manger —

“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19, NIV)

Confused?  Probably.  

Perfect comprehension?  It’s not possible.

Conflicted by chaos?  She had to be.

And delighted by sacred wonder?  Most definitely.

I like to imagine Father God, sitting on the edge of His Throne, peering over the edge of eternity…smiling at Mary.  “Oh, the joy of raising children who ponder!”

Practical Suggestions

Maybe you’re already pondering—

How do I apply these ideas in my homeschooling experiences with my own children?  I’m so glad you asked

1.   Instead of answering pre-packaged questions about a chapter (or a passage) you’re reading together in Literature, Bible, History, or Science, try this instead:  Divide a blank sheet of note-taking paper in half, from top to bottom to make two columns.  Label the first column “Considerations” and the second column “Questions.”  

After the reading, spend about 10 minutes letting each person (teacher and child/ren) write down the ideas they found to be noteworthy in the “Considerations” column.  These can be ideas that are new, ideas that offer a fresh perspective, something you’ve never thought of before, something you want to remember…and ponder…

Also, write down questions you thought of during the reading—in the “Questions” column.  These can be questions about what you didn’t clearly understand, questions about new learning you’re wondering about now that you’re discovering what’s in this text, questions you want to research because now you’re curious…

Everyone gets a turn to share their considerations and questions in discussion.  You can always return to the text to clarify—if someone’s considerations demonstrate a misunderstanding.  There’s no penalty for being wrong.  There’s simply an opportunity to ponder—and learn.

For older students, the lists can also be a part of brainstorming in the writing process—for creating paragraphs or essays.  For all of us, the lists can become a way of meditating on scripture, or keeping a prayer journal.

2.  Ask different kinds of questions after you’ve read with your child.  Instead of the typical  questions about plot and setting and theme, or knowledge level questions that can be graded easily on a multiple choice test and then forgotten, ask questions that invite pondering. 

There is a list of these kind of questions in my book (Education by Design, Not Default—How Brave Love Creates Fearless Learning )  on pp. 95-96—in chapter nine, “Traditions by Design.” Here are a few examples: 

  • “What is ________ believing to be true about himself right now?  How do you know?”

  • “What is ________ afraid of?  What is the evidence and the effect of fear in his own life?  What is the effect of his fear on others?”

  • “What is the impact and influence of love on _________?  Who/what is the source of love?  In what ways is love evident?”

Oh, the joy of raising children who ponder! 


When we offer our children an honest childhood, we offer the world trust-worthy adults. There is great hope.

Janet Newberry is an educational consultant and author of Education by Design, Not Default: How Brave Love Creates Fearless Learning which aspires to redeem childhood by offering tips to cultivate transformational experiences for our children.She is…

Janet Newberry is an educational consultant and author of Education by Design, Not Default: How Brave Love Creates Fearless Learning which aspires to redeem childhood by offering tips to cultivate transformational experiences for our children.

She is also the founder of John 15 Academy which supports the success of homeschooling families. Find out more on her website, and connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.

She and her husband are the hosts of the Brave Love podcast.

Janet’s book has been causing me to reevaluate many of my homeschooling goals and values.

I would love to hear from you in the comments about this… what is your reaction to Janet’s post?

And, will give your children an invitation to simply PONDER?