I recently returned to work from a much-needed vacation.

This trip was special because it was our first family vacation; it was me, my wife, Melinda, and our son, Prahlad.

I planned the time off at the beginning of the year, but it took a while for me and Melinda to decide where we would go. We first thought about going to Yellowstone National Park, but found out some areas of the park would be closed in April. Plus, it would be too cold yet for camping out.

We also contemplated driving out to California -- L.A., San Diego and San Francisco. I went to L.A. and San Diego when I was a wee lad, and Melinda has never been there. But we figured the drive would be too much for a toddler.

Then we thought about going to Glenwood Springs, but we went there on our last vacation. As much as we love it there, we opted not to return so soon.

So, we decided our main destination would be Mesa Verde. We hit the road April 23, five days after I got my wisdom teeth removed (that's a whole other story, ouch!). We took Interstate 25 south to Walsenburg, only stopping briefly in Pueblo to change a diaper.

After getting off I-25 at Walsenburg and heading west on U.S. 160, our first highlight was the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, which is 35 miles northeast of Alamosa. We didn't stay very long because it was too windy for Prahlad. We decided not to hike all the way up, but it was incredible just to witness giant sand dunes surrounded on all sides by mountains. We stayed in Alamosa for the night, with plenty of bottled water.

On day two, we visited Colorado Gators, a famous alligator and reptile "park" in Mosca, 17 miles north of Alamosa. This was pretty cool. We got to see all kinds of reptiles, scorpions, snakes, tortoises, fish, peacocks and, of course, alligators. If you've never heard of or been to this place, here's a little factoid for you: Colorado Gators is home to the famous alligator Morris, who starred in Happy Gilmore, among other popular films. Oddly enough, Prahlad's highlights of the gator farm were the fish -- or "fees," as he calls them, a house cat and a tractor. Go figure.

After leaving Colorado Gators, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit the UFO Watchtower in Hooper. Click here for a little info about the place, taken straight from Westword (you'll have to scroll to the bottom of the page). This place is, well, far out. We didn't actually meet the owner of the place, Judy Messoline, but we spent some time looking at the "garden" of people's personal belongings next to the watchtower, left behind as an offering to the higher beings. I left behind a YourHub.com pen. How's that for advertising?

Then it was on to Cortez. We stayed two nights here, and visited the Four Corners, Hovenweep National Monument -- located in Colorado and Utah -- and, of course, Mesa Verde.

My dad recommended we check out Hovenweep, so we took him up on it. If you've never been there, here's a little description from the Web:

Hovenweep National Monument protects six prehistoric, Puebloan-era villages spread over a twenty-mile expanse of mesa tops and canyons along the Utah-Colorado border. Multi-storied towers perched on canyon rims and balanced on boulders lead visitors to marvel at the skill and motivation of their builders. Hovenweep is noted for its solitude and undeveloped, natural character.

The next day, we finally reached our main destination. We spent about six hours at Mesa Verde and saw just about everything you can see without paying for a guided tour. The ruins are breathtaking, to say the least. My favorite part was Cliff Palace, though we weren't able to get too close. We got tired of taking Prahlad out of his car seat at every stop (most stops are only 400 feet apart off the side of the road), so we took turns after a while.

After leaving Mesa Verde, it was time to head home. We didn't want to go back the same way we came, so we took U.S. 550 north from Durango. We drove on the very scenic "Million Dollar Highway," a 25-mile stretch of U.S. 550 between Silverton and Ouray, and stayed the night in Ouray, the "Switzerland of America." After a dip in the hot springs the next morning, we continued on to Montrose and went east on U.S. 50 through Gunnison. We eventually took U.S. 285 all the way home.

Overall, I was amazed at how well Prahlad fared in the car. Highlights for him included his first time in a swimming pool and his first time drinking from a straw. He also starting saying hi and waving to people a lot on this trip. He would initiate a greeting, but he didn't so much like it when strangers said hi back.

I didn't think about this while planning the vacation, but I guess you could call it our "national park/monument" trip. We had a lot of fun and saw a lot of places we hadn't seen before. I think our next vacation will be to Yellowstone. Hey, I still have about 40 hours of vacation time racked up ...