Mesa Verde National Park

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Hello!

We wanted to get to the Park fairly early (the Visitor’s Center opens at 8 a.m.) so we had breakfast here at the hotel (continental) and then headed out. There is a lovely crabapple tree at the front of the hotel.

The Park is located about 9 miles from Cortez, where we are staying. Got there about 7:30 a.m. and, about 5 miles from the park entrance, we almost (literally) ran into a little friend – Isn’t he cute? Apparently he is known by the rangers as “Blondie” because of his light coloring, but he is an immature black bear who happens to be blonde! Very odd to have him just walk by the car!

Arrived at the Visitor’s Center just a few minutes after 8, and we were able to get tickets for the 9:00 a.m. (the first of the day) tour of Cliff Palace. As we weren’t sure exactly how long things would take, this is the only tour that we signed up for. We drove down to the Cliff Palace parking area, where the ranger-led tour begins. Only had a few minutes to wait for Ranger Paul, our guide. There were probably 15 – 20 people on the tour, and as we left the overlook for the trail, we dropped fairly rapidly about 125 feet to the floor level of the dwellings. As we were the first group of the day, we literally had the entire place to ourselves – nobody roaming around to get into photos!

Paul was an excellent guide, and talked a lot about the history and geology of Mesa Verde and the mysteries surrounding exactly who these Old Puebloans were and where they went. The group originally lived on the top of the mesa, digging pits into the ground which were covered with wood and bark. Eventually, though, around 1190, the groups started moving into the alcoves eroded out of the sandstone, and the cliff dwellings began. They continued building the dwellings to the late 1270’s, ranging in size from one room houses to villages of more than 150 rooms. However, some time after 1270, the cliff dwellings were abandoned. It is surmised that the extended 20+ year drought of that period was the final factor forcing the Old Puebloans to move elsewhere.

In addition to being a National Park, Mesa Verde is also classified as a World Heritage Site, joining the likes of the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal. There are more than 4,000 archeological sites in the Park, and many of them are now open to visitors. So…back to Cliff Palace…

The tour was great – and we took many, many pictures! – but as Robert says, when you start a hike by heading virtually straight down, there comes a point when you by necessity have to start heading straight up. In this case, it’s the literal truth, as a rock stairway was cut out between several HUGE boulders, and in addition to climbing some very steep steps, we also had several straight up ladders to contend with! Everybody made it safely, though, and we were able afterwards to have a very interesting talk with Ranger Paul, who, obviously, is very interested in archeological ruins – and – Surprise!! – we are too!

From Cliff Palace we worked our way along the loop road, stopping to see more ruins, excavations of pit houses, and other geological wonders. We also spent some time in the park’s museum.

By the time we had finished the two loops on Chapin Mesa, we were more than ready for lunch. Found the Far View Terrace café for grilled chicken and chips (the American kind) as well as a really nice sit-down. We have been doing a great deal of walking at more or less 7,000 feet altitude!

After lunch, we drove the 12 mile Wetherill Mesa road, but decided that we would save Step and Long Houses for our next visit – it was definitely time for naps!

Back to the hotel – and this time, unfortunately, no little bear to look at! As it was now 4 p.m. we settled in for a good rest and the big decision of the day – where to go for dinner. We had a booklet with menus of various places in the area, and finally decided on Millwood Junction, in neighboring Mancos, 16 miles away. Beautiful time for a drive. Mancos turned out to be a small and not-as-charming as Cortez; definitely felt like an alternative life-style kind of place. The food was good though – R had marinated and grilled shrimp, and I had a great fillet of beef – they do GREAT beef in Colorado! Got back to the hotel about 7, and am now trying to stay awake to finish this!

Tomorrow we are off to Vernal, Utah, to Dinosaur National Monument; very much looking forward to it!

Much love and more later!
m
xxx