We left the mountain campsite near Telluride where everything was green and the temperatures were 60s in the day and 40s at night.
Our next stop was Mesa Verde National Park.
| The temperatures were in the 80s but this site had electricity so we could run the air conditioner. | |
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Right away, we started seeing wildlife. A deer is browsing next to our campsite. Click for a close up. |
| After the deer left, we saw several wild turkeys walk past. |  |
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Mesa Verde is a wonderful collection of elaborate stone communities build in the alcoves of the canyon walls. Our first site is Spruce Tree House. It is the best preserved, approximately 95% original by the Park Service estimate. It is thought to have been home to about 100 people. |
Carol liked the oddly shaped windows and doorways. Click to view them straight on. The ladders are sticking up out of underground kivas or ceremonial rooms. |
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We have climbed down into one of the kivas and Carol is showing how low the ceiling is. A curious Indian boy is watching. |
My waist pack has water bottles that we needed while exploring the ruins. Notice how well the stone wall in the upper left corner of the picture conforms to the cliff wall. Click picture for a larger image. |
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Our next stop was Cliff Palace, the largest of Mesa Verde's cliff villages. It was found by white men when two cowboys were searching for lost cattle in 1888. |
Access to Cliff Palace is by Park Service guided tours only. Our tour guide was inspired, knowledgable and appreciative of Indian culure. |
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These were the narrow steps we had to climb up the cliff to get back to the mesa top. |
