So call me a nerd. As a teacher, I know that nothing beats actually expeiencing the curriculum, so
I decided even before 
the kids were born that we would go on trips each year that went along with their curriculum. This was our first educational vacation. Jake, our oldest, was going into the third grade and would be studying about Native Americans. We decided to go to the Grand Canyon and to Mesa Verde National Park. I had done the same trip when I was younger and couldn't wait to take the kids. We drove there from the Central Coast and stopped for a night in Palm Springs (about six hours with stops for the kids) then we went to Phoenix to stay with relatives (4 hours) and 2 more hours to the Grand Canyon from Phoenix. Another route to go is to drive to Williams and take the train to the Grand Canyon.Grand Canyon
The kids loved the Grand Canyon. We went in July and the weather was perfect. I booked rooms at the Bright Angel Lodge and Cabins a year in advance. The price wasn't too bad since it's a National Park and the location was fantastic, right on the south rim. One benefit of the location is you wake up in the morning and virtually have the park to yourself for a few hours. The train from Williams arrives around noon and that's when the throngs of tourist come to the rim.
Just down a ways from our room on the south rim was a great place to view the Condors that live in the Canyon. They have nest just below the rim and if you bring binoculars you can watch them fly. It's amazing.
We took a short walk on the Bright Angel Trail that leads down (eventually - about 9 miles) to the Colorado River. Remember to take water and keep in mind it's easy going down, but a lot harder to get back up. Their are day mule trips you can take, but kids need to be 8 years old. Another fun thing we did was to take the free buses all over the park. We took it all the way to Hermit's Rest(7 miles) stopping at various lookout points to get views of the Canyon and the river below. The buses are air conditioned and the kids enjoyed the ride.
Another recommendation for kids while staying there is to do as many Ranger Programs as you can. They are FREE and our kids loved them. They talk about the geology and history of the Canyon. When you enter the park, they will give you a newspaper. It lists the ranger programs for kids. Once you attend a program, your kids will receive a booklet on becoming a junior ranger during their visit. It's a lot of fun for them and my kids both became junior rangers.
Bright Angel Lodge and Cabins website: http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/Bright-Angel-408.html
Prices are about $111/night for a historic cabin
$142 for a rim cabin
There are about 7 properties on the South Rim to choose from including the historical and rustic/elegant El Tovar. All of them looked decent to me. We ate at the restaurant adjacent to the Bright Angel Cabins. The food was good and the prices reasonable.
Mesa Verde National Park
Our next stop was Mesa Verde National Park. This is a must see on your list of things to do with kids. We drove from the Grand Canyon to Colorado and stopped at 4 Corners National Monument. This is where the states of Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado all meet. There's an actual slab with the names of the four states with a platform above to get a picture of each family member in a different state or you can lean over with your hands and feet in each state. There are Native American booths surrounding the site for a quick snack or for some inexpensive jewelry and souvenirs.
Another stop we made just quickly since we were there was a brief drive down the road to Monument Valley. The rock formations were amazing and looked like something out of a movie set only to find that they have been the settings for many movies.
We finally arrived at Mesa Verde. It was worth the drive to see my kids' faces when they laid thier eyes on the first cliff dwelling, "Clff Palace." It's truly a remarkable sight. I could feel what the first settlers, two cowboys, Richard Wetherill and his brother-in-law Charlie Mason, felt on December 18th, 1888, were riding across the mesa top looking for stray cattle and looked across and through the blowing snow "a magnificent city."
Our days were spent exploring the multitude of cliff dwellings, walking among the rooms, listening to rangers speak about the Native Americans lives and how they survived while standing in the very rooms and courtyards where they lived. One dwelling has a Kiva, an underground ceremonial room, you enter via a ladder. Sitting in the room I could almost hear the chants of the medicine man and imagine the spirtual practices of the people.
Our favorite adventure there was a tour of Balcony House, or the "adventurous tour". It involves climbing a 32 ft. ladder, crawling through a 12ft.-long tunnel, and climbing up a 60ft open rock face with two 10ft ladders to exit the site. I was up for the adventure, but I was a little worried about the kids. I could remember surviving it when I was a child, so I said "what the heck." The kids did great and my daughter, Jordyn, who'd already earned her junior ranger badge for Mesa Verde by the time we did the tour got to lead the tour. They kids loved the adventure (we each took a child and stayed close to them on the ladders) so much that they asked to "do it again!", so we returned the next day and did the whole tour again (I swear it was better than Disneyland).
On our way home we stopped at the Petrified Forest. It was really interesting. The drive is deceiving however. Once you exit the highway and enter the park it's about an hour until you actually get to the petrified rocks. The visitor center is nice and has good displays.
Tips: Many of the dwellings can only be accessed with a Ranger Led Tour. You can stop at the Ranger Station on your way to the dwellings and purchase your tickets ($3 per person). We stayed in park at the Far View Lodge. It sits on a high shoulder of the Mesa Verde near the Visitor Center, offering panoramic vistas into three states. It’s simple there. No TVs. Nothing fancy, peaceful. We didn't miss having a TV at all. The only drawback was the food situation up on the Mesa wasn't so good. I don't know if they had a lack of personnel, but the cafeteria style places near the hotel were out of everything. There was an expensive restaurant right at the hotel, but we didn't eat there. We ended up driving to the town of Cortez (about 30 minutes) down the hill for some great Mexican food. Cortez is another option for economical lodging. I personally liked staying on the Mesa.
Far View Lodge website:
http://www.nps.gov/meve/planyourvisit/lodging.htm
Room for 2 adults and 2 kids about $125 night
Camping also available on the Mesa for about $21 a night
For more info on the park:
http://www.nps.gov/meve/planyourvisit/visitcliffdwelling.htm
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