Mesa Verde National Park

Good morning from Colorado.  It was a cool night.  About 3:00 a.m. we woke up and decided to turn on the space heater in the bedroom to warm things up.  It helped a lot.  We ate breakfast and left for Mesa Verde about 8:15.

We found a few changes since the last time we were here.  I don't have my travel journals for exact dates but we are thinking that the last time we were here was 1988.  In 2012 a new visitor's center and research center were built just before you drive through the entrance.  There is where you purchase tickets for ranger-led tours into the larger dwellings.  You cannot visit these dwellings on your own for the protection of the dwellings.  Because they are on a winter schedule, not as many tours are offered.  The only one available we could take was booked until tomorrow.   That meant that we would not be able to explore Balcony House or Cliff Palace the two best dwellings.

The light (picture) at the end of the tunnel.

As we were driving to Step House, we saw three or four horses.  We were surprised as we had never seen horses here.  We didn't know if they were wild or belonged to a rancher.  We talked to the ranger about the horses and were told the horses were feral and should be considered wild.  Horses are not native to the Anasazi life-style.  

We saw this unusual camper in the parking lot.  

This is the Step House dwelling.  

It is called the Step House because it contains ruins of the first type of home built here and then three or four hundred years later, the Anasazi began to build the cliff houses.  This is a pit house the first type of home.

These are the cliff buildings.

It was a mile round trip trail to the  Step House.  These pictures were taken either going down to the dwellings or climbing out of the canyon

On the way out of the canyon, we found several opportunities to sit and rest.  At this stop, a man came by and offered to take our picture.

After we left Step House, we drove to overlooks of other dwellings.  This is a picture of Shiprock, a very famous landmark in this part of the country.  Shiprock is 50 miles south from Mesa Verde.  We will be driving closer to it when we leave here Monday and head for Navajo Lake State Park in New Mexico.

This and the several pictures which follow are of Cliff Palace which, in my opinion, is the best example of cliff dwellings. When you are at the overlook looking down into the dwelling, it is so awesome to see how large and intricate the dwellings are.  These were built in the 1200's by the Anasazi Indians without the aid of modern building tools, and they are built in the cliff of the mesas.  These people must have been incredibly nimble and definitely not afraid of heights!

No one knows why they would abandon these dwellings but it gives us a glimpse into how they lived.

I don't know what kind of bird this is but I love its blue color.

This dwelling is called "Many Windows."  From the picture, you can see that the only way to get into these dwellings would have been long ladders or ropes.

This one is "Hemenway Home" because it was discovered by a person named Hemenway.

There have been several big fires on the mesas in this park.  We were told that lightening can strike 100 times in a 24 hour period.  Lightening is a big cause of their fires.

The trees and bushes where turning yellow but because the sky was so dark, their bright colors were muted.

This picture should be at the beginning because I took it in the morning when the sun was shining on the top of this mountain.

We got back to camp about 3:30 p.m.  We were so glad that we had experienced Mesa Verde before or else we would have been disappointed not to be able to tour any of the largest dwellings.  We did enjoy the time we spent there. 

It has been raining off and on and the forecast calls for more rain.  I don't know how it will affect our plans for tomorrow.  We have been told that it could get down to 37 degrees tonight.   Brrrrr!