Also, keep in mind it's almost a 45 minute ride into the actual park(Visitors Center) from the entrance, so you aren't there til you're there.

Deb's post is the reason to stay IN the Park. Just isn't worth the travel time--and I suspect, traffic.

Traffic not so much of an issue, Gretchen. It's the travel time and if you aren't a fan of curvy, twisty mountain road, that too. Less times driven, the better, if you know what I mean.

emalloy. Good plan, much appreciated. Maximizing time is important, so the sandwich idea makes a lot of sense.

DebiitNM
It would be unreasonable to assume that we could drive from Sante Fe to Mesa Verde, add on the 45 minutes and be there by noonish. However if the previous stop-over was Durango (or thereabouts), it would appear to fit in nicely.
I assume the 'curvy twisty road' is the journey from the entrance to the Visitors' Centre, not highway 160?

Gretchen.
The plan is stay in the park; we just need to workout the schedule which entails the drive from Sante Fe, 3 or 4 nights in the Durango-Ouray-Telluride area and 1 or 2 nights in Mesa Verde.

fyi, traffic between Durango and Mesa verde is not bad at all, in fact the road is a breeze - and Mesa Verde is one of the few blessedly uncrowded national parks. we've been there numberous times in the last 2 years and never had a line. We usually eat lunch at the cafeteria by the Sprucetree house ruins and have found the food really decent, and again no wait - maybe we were just lucky. Of course a picnic in May should be lovely.

weather wise - will probably be in the 70's to 80's, probably quite dry. It's a great time of year to visit

Unfortunately, the drive from Santa Fe to MV is a bit out of the way. You can take back roads to 550 or you can come south on I25 to 550, depends on where in SF you are. IF you leave early enough [maybe 6 am], you might be at Visitor's Center by noon.

The drive from Durango to the entrance to the park [again depending on where IN Durango you start] will be about 45 minutes.

160 isn't too bad, there are 2 passes that you have to climb, but it isn't white knuckle mountain road.

FYI - 80's in May isn't likely.

Con60:

I responded to the questions you addressed to me on this thread:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...-on-flickr.cfm

One thing I should mention is that the VC is now much closer to the bottom of the Mesa than it was a couple of years ago. If you sign up for a ranger led tour on the first day, allow forty minutes to get to the parking area for the tour.

Thank you for the update emalloy, it has been a bit of time since I was last there and forgot that the Visitor Center moved. But it's still a long drive in to get to the actual sites.

Sorry but I’ve away away from my computer for the last several days.

Lauramgarden – It’s reassuring to know that we have chosen a good time weather wise. It would also seem that avoided the large crowds.

DebitNM
Thanks for your input. By the time we get to Durango, we’ll be into the 4th week of the trip. I can’t see us leaving at 6 am. In the past we get later with each passing day. Undisciplined and lazy, I know, but I can’t see the habit changing. However your information is suggesting we do 2 nights inside Mesa Verde.

Thank you for the photos Jeffergray.