Mesa Verde National Park, CO

After getting gas and 2 lattes, we were on the way to Mesa Verde.  It's a little drive from Cortez to get there, and once you are in the park, there's a 14 mile winding, climbing road to the visitor center.  I'm not sure what the elevation gain is, but there were a lot of switchbacks in the road with hairpin turns.  I was glad Dave was driving!  

Not too many stops along the way, so when I could I was reading about the largest cliff dwellings that had been excavated.  The only way you could see them was to get tickets to do a tour.  I was a little nervous when I saw that one required climbing a kiva ladder 100 feet.  I know what you're thinking - I used to go rock climbing, but I was roped up!  There were 3 tours that we could do, and we hadn't made up our mind until we got to the visitor center and the line was about 25 feet long to buy tickets.  

We found that Wetherill Mesa had one dwelling on the tour, but we could also do a self-guided tour to one dwelling, and several ruins.  This area is only open during the summer and as the drive started, I knew why.  The road had more switchbacks than the road coming into the visitor center!  They had a nice set up at Wetherill Mesa with trams to take you to the cliff dwellings once we got there.  The trams also picked you up at various places if you were hiking.  They had several rangers there to give information and we started talking to one who had been there for a while.  He suggested that we go first to Step House and see the dwelling there, then come back and go to Nordenskiold #16 ruin overlook, and Badger House Community ruins.  

The hike to Step House was not very long, but steep in places.  We had glimpses of the dwelling as we went along.  Once there, we talked to the ranger on duty and began to explore.  We were able to climb a kiva ladder to a higher level and look down into the exposed kiva.  Normally, they are covered and the only entrance is a hole in the center.  I was exciting to see it and imagine what life was like in the dwelling.  They must have been smaller people than today, judging by the size of the doors and entries into the kivas.  

A few other interesting items were the hand print on the ceiling of the rock behind the dwelling, at least 50 feet above the floor of the dwelling.  It was probably created by putting the hand on the rock, then blowing dye or paint around it.  I'm guessing they must have stood on a rooftop to do it. 

There was a wall of petroglyphs the ranger told us were the largest group in the park.  I thought there would be more because most of the dwelling had been inhabited for centuries.  I think Dave got a good shot of the petroglyphs, don't you?

After hiking back from Step House, we took the tram to the trailhead for Nordenskiold for our next adventure.  The hike was about 2 mile round trip, and I bet at one time it was spectacular.  But there had been a fire there and most of the pines had been burned.  The undergrowth was coming back, but the trail was hot and dusty, and filled with grasshoppers.  

Once there, it was interesting to look across the canyon to see the ruins.  I was glad I had my binoculars because I could see a lot of detail.  It's amazing to think that a whole community lived on those rocks! 

We hiked back to the trailhead and on to Badger House Community ruins.  They were covered with structures to protect them from the elements.  This was an earlier community that lived on top of the mesa in the pit structures similar to those we saw at the Anasazi Cultural Center.  There were 4 areas that had been excavated from different time lines.  We could get very close but not climb into them.  The picture below shows an opening that is one end of a tunnel that connected to a small tower about 40 feet away.

Notice how the top of the kiva is at ground level, as we look down into it.  We were pretty tired at this point, and happily jumped on the next tram for a few final stops on the way back to the parking area.  We stopped at an overlook that showed Long House, which was one of the dwellings that required a guided tour.  There was a group at the site, and another waiting at the top of the trailhead.  Made us really happy we had gone out on our own.

Back to the visitor center, in search of some food.  Disappointed that the cafeterias were closed mid-afternoon and didn't open again until 5:00 PM, we had some food that's not worth talking about, then headed out to the last dwelling that could be explored without a guide - Spruce Tree House.  It was a short, steep hike down into the canyon, but well worth it.  By this time, we were used to seeing the rooms in the rocks, however, there was a reconstructed kiva that we could climb down into.  It was great!  I was surprised at how much room there was inside.  It was about 7-8 feet high and 10-12 feet in diameter.  There were about 7 of us down there and it was quite roomy.  I think this was a great way to end the day at Mesa Verde...

Back to town and the micro brewery for a cold beer and a good dinner. This was a long day, but tomorrow we have mostly a driving day to Chinle, AZ and Canyon de Chelly.