I did have a friend who had friends that lived there so he was able to spend the night there. I did go to Mesa Verde and was blown away.

I mainly hit lesser known areas, less traffic. The Grand Gulch, another large community that traded with both Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde, and lots of lesser travelled areas from my guide books of the region. I primarily was in SE Utah as they were less than 4 hours from where I lived. This was in the 90s and early 2000s and back then most of the areas were just BLM land and didn’t require permits or reservations.

Spent a ton of time in the Needles District of the Canyonlands NP, 30-40 nights over a dozen years. Trips ranged from 2 night weekend trips to 7-10 night “expeditions”. Some of the most amazing landscapes! Close to 100 nights overall out there, and 100s of miles.