Mesa Verde National Park

Above, Spruce Tree House in Mesa Verde National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If one needs some ideas for places to visit, the Four Corners (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah) offers plenty of things to see and do.

One such place is Mesa Verde National Park, which is in the southwest corner of Colorado.

According to an article in The Daily Journal:

Southwest Colorado holds a wealth of archaeological sites with well-preserved evidence of native cultures. The charming town of Durango, less than 60 miles from Mesa Verde National Park (to the west) and Chimney Rock National Monument (to the east), is an inviting base of operations from which to explore these treasures. Durango’s main street is a National Register Historic District with galleries, boutiques, restaurants and varied accommodations, including the 1887 Strater Hotel, where Western fiction author Louis L’Amour did much of his writing. At one end of the town is the depot for The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, from which scenic train rides depart several times as day. 

Spread over 52,000 acres on high plateaus (7,000 to 8,500 feet), Mesa Verde National Park offers a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Puebloans who built their homes there from around 650 until about 1300. The site was discovered in 1888 by cowboys looking for stray cattle and was made a national park by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906.

As the above states, there are other places to visit while in the Four Corners of the U.S.

To read more, go here.

White Baby Grand Piano Returns To Graceland's Music Room

Above, the Music Room in the background before its restoration to its 1960s appearance. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Finally, the white baby grand piano has returned to Graceland's Music Room after changing owners and restoration after Elvis Presley sold it in 1976.

According to the Daily Journal:

A white, baby grand piano with gold accents and a custom-made, gold, metal bench designed by Elvis with a white, leather cushion made its return to the Music Room at Graceland this past weekend during Graceland’s holiday concert events. 

It was the first time guests to the mansion have ever been able to see the instrument in the home since it was opened to the public in 1982. 

Additional 1960s-era artifacts which are now on display in the Music Room include the original drapes and original gold couch, which was part of the room’s décor in 1964.

The Music Room was restored to its 1960s appearance.

To see the piano and read more, go here.