Mesa Verde

Day 22, Monday 10/7 Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

This National Park is said to be one of the most photographed, well that gets my juices flowing, but others are rather spectacular also. We all learned some basics in grade school history about native American tribes who lived in the southwest prior to exploration and settlement by Europeans. Over a period of 750 years, 20 Pueblo sub-tribes, 2 Ute tribes, Hopi, Navajo, and Apache sub-tribes lived in this region. The period of use of these cliff structures was from around 550 to the late 1200’s. Original structures still remain under protected cliffs, preserved by the dry environment and natural shelters. We learned at the Cliff Palace that this grand location has around 120 rooms and around 20 kivas which are round sunken areas for ceremony, worship and gathering around the fire. This large location in this cliff was generally not for living, but was a place for commerce, a location for trading goods with others near and far, sometimes the goods and the material is brought from as far as current day Mexico. The park has many locations with remains of stone and mortar structures, the mortar used was dirt and water, and still survives today.

One of the hiking trails in the park is the Petroglyph Point Trail. While there is only a single panel of petroglyph symbols at the far end of the loop trail, the trail itself is well worth hiking the 2.4 miles. The start of the trail is a bit confusing because it goes to several destinations, once you have passed by the Spruce Tree House which is closed due to falling rocks, the trail continues upward on the side of a steep canyon. The views open up as the trail follows the contours of the steep walls. In some locations, the edge is rather close to the trail, watch your step. There are some narrow passages, and duck throughs, and the trail passes by some cliff side caves, one with stone wall remains. I felt the petroglyph carvings may be rather limited, and at the far end of the loop, there they were, quite simple and small, but still interesting to consider. The return side of the loop trail was a smoother easier hike back as the day was warming up.

A couple of small lizards (Gecko’s) stood their ground as we hiked by, like a small dog guarding it’s home.

Our ranger lead tour was to the Cliff Palace. The ranger has more than 40 years in service at the National Park, and still loves it. He is a proud native American, and provides an informative tour with good humor. The walk down the cliff to the palace is steep and narrow, as is the walk back up the cliff on the far side. Our ranger carves wood to produce and sell native flutes, thousands of them over his lifetime. He gave us a treat by playing his favorite flute to complete the tour prior to hiking back up the cliff.

Day 23, Tuesday 10/8 Entering New Mexico

Traveling south from western Colorado, the weather is clear and cooler than it has been, nice and comfortable for people who are accustomed to the cool of New Hampshire autumn days.

The drive is uneventful. The scenery is very interesting to a New Englander, open space, views for miles, hills and ridges and outcroppings banded with color, spotty vegetation which keeps changing based on how little rainfall occurs.

A stop is planned en-route to Aztec, NM where the Aztec Ruins National Monument is located. This 1 hour stop breaks up our trip, and RV parking is provided. The remains of the structures are significant, and similar, but different than the cliff structures at Mesa Verde. Notable, is the only re-constructed kiva in National park lands. This is a large one which was reconstructed to show visitors how these were completed with wood and thatch roofs for use during the period.