Canyonlands needle district : some hikes, easy to strenous, Newspaper rock while driving to Needles district.

Mancos( there was a small "coach" museum yeras before...).

Mesa Verde national park if not on your project while in Durango...
But you have to choose between all those...
Erik

We liked visiting the ruins at Hovenweep National Monument and driving the back road (County Road G) to Cortez.

It is the back of beyond.

Stop in at the Anasazi Heritage Center in Dolores after stopping at Hovenweep. Small, but chock full of great things to see and learn.

http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/ahc.html

Mancos isn't worth a stop, sorry. Not much there.

Lunch at Kennebec Cafe which is west of Durango, on SR 160. That is the route to Durango, so it makes it easy to do.

Hovenweep and Mesa Verda unless they are part of your Durango stay.

While exploring this region, years ago, (but in project in next years... as we are in lack of Four Corners area...), we liked Ute Mountain Tribal park. They have various tours some half day, some whole day and in remote part of the parks...
The web site is www.utemountainute.com/tribalpark.htm
Not possible from Moab as the schedule is relatively early in the morning but can be part of a Durango's stay..Less monumental than Mesa Verde, but less crowded and more "in the wild"...
Erik.
PS : I've mentioned Mancos only for a detour by road not for a whole day visit...

thanks everyone! we will have a rental SUV-are some of the rds to Hovenweep unpaved?

Don't recall. We had no trepidation in a rental Chevy with four of us.

The only issue wil be if it rains or snows on the dirt roads--because it gets REALLY slick and impassable with even 4WD. But you should be fine and I think the roads were gravel at the worst for the most part.

We just visited Hovenweep last week, and the roads were paved. What a fascinating place! Also highly recommend a visit to the Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum in Blanding - an incredible collection of Ancestral Puebloan artifacts and pottery as well as on-site ruins.

How long should we allow at Hovenweep or Anasazi Heritage Musuem? I am thinking we may need to travel back once we get to Durango. Thanks again!