Cortez (Colorado)

Introduction

Mesa Verde, Colorado

© jabyb

Cortez is a small sleepy desert town in the south west corner of Colorado and is the starting point of several interesting sights. If you're interested in gambling there is the Ute Mountain Casino. If you want ruins check out the famous Mesa Verde National Park or the countless ruins in the Canyon of the Ancients National Monument.

Sights and Activities

• Ute Mountain Casino is one of the largest Native American casinos in the country, hope lady luck is on your side when you walk in the front doors.
• Mesa Verde National Park is the amazing cliff ruins built by the ancient Pueblo people, but remember that it is a 45-minute drive from the park entrance to the ruins in good weather.
• Canyons of the Ancients National Monument if you want some more remote Pueblo ruins that require Hiking, this is for you.
• Crow Canyon is a non for profit that gives day to a week long classes on archeology in the American south west.
• If your interested in shopping along main street there are plenty of trading posts selling traditional Native American Art. There are also plenty of funky new age shops selling modern art and cloths.

Events and Festivals

• Mesa Verde Country Wine and Art Festival
• Ute Mountain-Mesa Verde Birding Festival
• Four Corners Arts and Crafts Fiesta
• Dawg Days Chili Cookoff
• Gathering of Traders is the yearly gathering of owners of trading posts across the south west and an auction of Navajo rugs.

Keep Connected

Internet

There is a very small internet bar/cafe culture in the USA. Even then most of the internet bars/cafes tend be located in major urban centers. Accessible WiFi networks, however, are common. The most generally useful WiFi spots are in coffee shops, fast-food chains, and bookshops, but also restaurants and hotels more and more have a network to connect on. Some of them might require you to buy something and you might need a password too, especially in hotels.

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

The general emergency phone number is 911. The USA has a great landline phone system that is easy to use. The country code for the U.S. is +1. The rest of the telephone number consists of 10 digits: a 3-digit area code, and a 7-digit number. Any small grocery store or pharmacy has pre paid domestic or international phone cards. These phone cards are very cheap and offer good rates. The once ubiquitous pay phone is now much harder to find. Likely locations include in or near stores and restaurants, and near bus stops. The cellphone network in the states is slowly getting better but is still not as good when compared to other western countries. Cell phones tend to operate using different frequencies (850 MHz and 1900 MHz) from those used elsewhere in the world (2100 MHz). This used to prevent most foreign phones from working in America. Phones must be tri- or quad-band to work in the U.S. Fortunately, technology has meant that most phones should now be able to pick up one of the U.S. networks. Prepaid phones and top-up cards can be purchased at mobile phone boutiques and at many discount, electronics, office supply and convenience stores. A very basic handset with some credit can be had for under $40.

Post

The US Postal Service is a very good and well priced mail system. There are post offices in every small and large town for sending packages internationally or domestically. Although some might keep longer hours, most are open at least between 9:00am and 5:00pm. If wanting to send a letter or postcard it is best just to leave it in a blue mail box with the proper postage. First-class international airmail postcards and letters (up 28.5 grams) cost $1.10. There are also private postal services like FedEx, UPS, TNT and DHL, which might be better value sometimes and are generally very quick and reliable too.