Coolest Place Ever- June 9th-10th

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Arrived at Mesa Verde in the early morning on the 9th. Proceeded to the Far View Visitors Center to purchase tickets to go on the three ranger guided tours. I decided to do one of the tours on the first day and two on the second. I took a ton of pictures, and it will be easier to explain things there, but I will give some insights here. First, if you have never been to Mesa Verde, try to get there sometime. It is really incredible. Second, the rangers here really love their jobs. The rangers who guided the tours all had unique stories to tell, and you could tell that they had gone to extra efforts to learn about the park and the people who lived there. One of the rangers had many stories to tell about what she had learned from an ancestor of the people who lived at Mesa Verde. Third, be prepared for any kind of weather. It rained both days while I was there and was also very hot and sunny at times during the day. Fourth and Fifth, getting to and back from the sites is very heard work. At 7,000-10,000 feet in elevation, climbing a few hundred feet will take your breath away. After having walked and lived in the park for two days I had a great appreciation for how hard it was to live here. Thinking about how hard it was to walk up and down, and they didn't have any man-made steps or bottled water. Then they had to build their homes and plant crops and harvest water. It's not hard to see why they didn't live much into their forties. Sixth, I learned that they no longer call the people who live there Anasazi, they call them the ancestors of the Pueblos.

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Photos

Long View
This is the first dwelling that I visited on the farther mesa.

Step House
The picture shows a house structure that was at this location 500 years before the cliff houses.

Cliff Palace
Another set of dwellings on a different mesa

Kiva at Cliff Palace
Kivas were places that the ancestral puebloans performed religious ceremonies

Balcony House
Another group of dwellings on the same mesa as the Cliff Palace

Ladder to get out of Balcony House
This was only a ten foot ladder. We had to climb up a 32 foot ladder to get into the dwellings

Petroglyphs
I had to walk a 2.6 mile trail to get to this, but it was well woth it.

Comments

[Kathy Martin]

hello from home
WoW on Mesa Verde Matt and so interesting about the Pueblo now. The drawings are amazing. I would love to see that but don't know if physically I am up to that. Good thing you played tennis and walked with dad so much. Your pix are great too. Thanks! Mom

[bizz]

Utah
Matt, Told ya and I didn't even hike and see what you have seen . So glad you like Utah and so happy the people that work there are as interested and willing to share. Glad your travels are as exciting as I hoped they would be for you. Be safe and all my love . Love is... Bizz P.S. You are doing a great job with the blog and the pictures! I look forward to them. Last night this sight was having some problems but today I got right in. Love ya!