Blogs from Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, United States, North America - page 4

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We got off to a bit of a rough start - couldn't get my car on the car tow. Spent nearly 1 1/2 hours getting it done. Now that we have it figured out, we will make better time. Set off to cross the Rockies, mid state. After looking at the map, we figured we could save some gray hair by taking a more southern route and then cross over to Mesa Verde park. It was a smoother ride - less hairpins and a lot of level driving. But there was a pretty steep grade up to Wolf Creek Ski lodge and the ride down was just as scary. Over 11,000 feet. And, yes, still snow on the ground. We made it into Durango around 3 pm knowing we were an hour away from the Mesa ... read more
Snow Caps
Don't drive over, cut out the middle
Or, tunnel through


We are up and at 'em at 5:30 today. Will be heading to Williams, AZ where it is 85 dry degrees. We might get some camp time too. ... read more


We slept in until 7 this morning, then lazed around enjoying coffee and breakfast. Today we all planned to visit Mesa Verde NP, but Bob and Gena were interested in touring the cliff dwellings, while Kerry and I knew we couldn't, so we agreed to take two separate vehicles. Our first stops in the park were the Montezuma Valley overlook, which gave a great view of (surprise!) the Montezuma Valley and the town of Cortez. Then on to Park Point overlook with its 360 degree view of the surrounding countryside, including the snow-capped San Juan mountains to the north and Ship Rock to the south. It was a clear and bright morning and we could see four states. After getting a patch and a stamp at the Visitor Center, we decided we'd check out the Mesa ... read more
Mesa Verde NP
Cliff Canyon
Cliff Canyon


No traveling today - - just a great visit to Mesa Verde National Park. Weather was windy and sometimes a little chilly. Sky was really clear due to the front that moved through here yesterday. Gena & I unhooked the Jeep from the trailer and went to the park alone (Charlie & Kerry have already been to this park and neither one of them were up for any long walks) Since we had Mo with us and couldn't leave him alone in the car or take with us on the trails and tours, we each signed up for a different guided tour. That worked out really well. Gena went on the Cliff Palace tour of the largest of the cliff dwellings. I went on the Balcony Hous Tour. That required lots of ladder climbing, crawling through ... read more
Ladder up into Balcony House
The Climb out of Balcony House
Distant Mountain seen from MVNP


Leaving Monument Valley after breakfast, we headed North to Colorado. After driving around the enormous landform that proved to be Mesa Verde itself, we entered the National Park and drove up to the top of the mesa, then South to the area where most of the cliff dwellings are found. We checked in at the Visitors' Center and found that, in order to see the ruins up close, we would need to sign up for a tour guided by a park ranger. We chose to see the Cliff Palace, the largest of the ruins. After purchasing our tickets, we drove to the Cliff Palace site. While we waited for our tour to begin, we were able to view the site from above. It was hard to believe that what were seeing was real. It gave the ... read more
Looking down the canyon
Storage areas
Andrew and Alec view the ruins


Mesa Verde National Park: http://www.nps.gov/meve/index.htm... read more
Monument Valley -> Mesa Verde
Monument Valley -> Mesa Verde
Monument Valley -> Mesa Verde


Mesa Verde National Park This was one of our favorite areas. It depicts the resiliency of those native to this land. They came to find living in the cliffs probably safer and providing a more comfortable living environment than on the “surface”. However the cliffs were abandoned after several hundred years and the inhabitants spread out through the southwest. This area is an archeologist delight as new dig sites have been found regularly and exploration continues. Let me tell you about our almost first visit to Mesa Verde. In was early December and we were on our way to Boulder (a trip Betty did not want to take). We stopped at a campground across from the entrance to Mesa Verde with plans to visit there the next morning. This did not happen as during the night ... read more
Main Living Area
View from Dedication


Le 5 août après-midi. Depuis Sand canyon, nous retraversons Cortez pour entrer dans le Parc National de Mesa Verde. Notre premier grand parc. Passage à l'entrée facilité par notre Pass, qui nous permet d'entrer gratoss pendant toute l'année dans les tous les parcs et monuments nationaux, acheté $80 à Aztec Ruins. Le camping est payant en plus (pas cher $9, contre $30 à $60 pour les campings commerciaux). Il ne reste plus que des emplacements de "dry camping" sans eau ni électricité, mais pas de problème avec notre maison à roulette. Certains sites ne sont accessibles que par visites guidées, nous choisissons donc de visiter Spruce Tree House en visite libre, puis de visiter le musée "to cool down" comme dit le ranger , pour ensuite visiter Cliff Palace, le plus grand village avec la visite ... read more
pour papa
Mesa Verde National Park
Mesa Verde National Park


On July 4th we went to the amphitheatre and watched some people from Arizona dance. The little guy is 4 years old. He has made great strides in his dancing abilities. Last year he took about a half dozen steps then laid down on a rock and went to sleep. It looks like the girl on the right closed here eyes just as I took the photo, but she is really in a dance induced trance. Notice the Tribal Elder with a collection plate in the background. I slipped her a 5. Later that day we went into Cortez. We were invited to a picnic at a friend’s house. A character by the name of Nelson Pruitt was there. If you Google “maury povich nelson pruitt” you will be directed to a 7 min. YouTube video ... read more
dancers
Nelson (standing)


MOAB - ARCHES NATIONAL PARK July 10th We headed down road 12, which wasn’t exactly in the national park but we still had the beautiful red rock formations. We passed by Tropic (population 460!) not a very big place and further out into the wilderness. Everything is very remote and we didn’t see many other cars, it does make you (read Tine) a bit apprehensive because she worries about what to do if something happened to the car, as we did not have any cell phone connection here. On our way we passed by a large amount of other national parks such as Capitol Reef National Park, but as there wasn’t time to go there if we were to get to our destination this evening, furthermore, the children would have killed us if we had put ... read more
Freja and balancing rock
Rock face structure
Half arches




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