Colorado Day 5: Mesa Verde National Park

 This was the goal of our trip, and it lived up to expectations. They don't allow tourists wandering about the cliff dwellings. You have to reserve your tour online within the last two weeks, although they are quite cheap. We signed up for Cliff Palace at 9:30 AM. We got there well ahead of time and enjoyed sitting in the shade while we waited. 

You can see the ancestral Pueblan village from the look out, but that is not the same as going there.

Along about here, I thought Steve might be considering backing out. He is at the top of a sandstone stairway.

This village of around 25 families was used for about a hundred years before it was abandoned, probably because of drought.

The doorways were tiny.

Getting out was more challenging than getting in, and the ancients did it with just toe and hand holds in the rock.

At the top we had the advantage of several ladders.

Balcony House is the other major site on that loop where you can take tours. We skipped it because there were more and higher ladders and a place where you had to crawl on your belly, but we ran into plenty of people who did both tours. Most were significantly younger than we are. I hiked to an overlook where I could see it across the canyon, but it was far enough away that pictures don't show much.

Before leaving home I downloaded an audio tour of Mesa Top Loop, narrated by a modern Pueblo Native. We listened as we drove from site to site and then investigated the site. This is Square Tower House, around AD 1200. 

Several sites were pit houses built on top the mesa, much older than the cliff dwellings. The oldest (not this one) dates from the sixth century.

Our audio tour took us from overlook to overlook.

The Sun Temple reminded us of Great Zimbabwe in Africa.

On one side there were a couple openings where we could see inside. Note the juniper beams that hold up the roof.

Here in the afternoon sun is Cliff Palace where we toured in the morning.

And at this point my phone died, no doubt due to all the pictures I had taken and listening to the audio tour without plugging in. Consequently, I have no pictures of the extensive later Pueblo villages at Fair View. We'll just have to come back. There is a whole part of the park that is closed right now for maintenance, so we have to return anyway. Besides, I think it would be cool to climb more ladders and crawl on my belly.

KFC at a patio table for supper. Tomorrow we are off to the Anasazi Heritage Center and a few lesser sites.