It seems that I need to go back a few parks to catch you all up on everything I have seen in past couple of weeks. August 19th had me on the road, in this incredible journey, for four months. It is hard to believe . . . until I look at the mileage on my car! To date I have driven slightly less than 21,000 miles on this wandering, with an unknown number of miles still to go. Thankfully, I have been able to find Subaru dealerships in Maine, Idaho, and now Texas, that have been able to keep up on my oil changes (albeit a few miles over the recommended mileage for each change! . . . sometimes dealerships are far and few between locations) and to crawl around and see if any issues are developing. I know I will need a new windshield when I get back to South Carolina, and new brake pads as well!
Let us jump back in time and visit Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. This is one of the many Parks that can be found in close proximity to each other in the desert area of the southwest, most around an hour to two hours’ drive from each other!
First, if you do not like making drives up winding roads that climb up the edges of steep mountain slopes, this may not be the Park for you! Once you get up onto the top of the mesa, you then need to drive along the tops of the ridgelines, following the often steep and curving two lane road (believe the posted speed signs for the turns . . . they are there for your safety!!). It was a bit of a white-knuckle drive for me on the way in with the way out much more fun!
Please also believe that the sign at the entrance advising that the road is not meant for RV’s and trailers is REALLY telling you the truth. There is a place you can park and use your towed vehicle, or tiurn around if you need to do so. In my many hours on the two days I was in the park, I only saw one tourist (foreign) who was driving a CruiseAmerica RV on the road. Tourists like this just have no common sense or simply ignore or cannot read the warning signs.
Mesa Verde National Park consists of a series of Pueblo Cliff Dwellings found clinging along the sides of canyon walls that slice into a tall plateau. There are over 600 known dwellings, ranging from potential single family sites or storage locations to large complexes that may have sheltered hundreds of inhabitants at one time. Due to recent heavy rains which have created erosion issues at some of the dwellings, not all the locations that are listed on the Park Guide as open to visit are still actually open. The Park is working to stabilize the cliffs to ensure you do not get caught (and crushed) in a landslide!Cliff Palace. This site has only reopened this season after being closed for preservation for the past two years. It can only be accessed as a Ranger Guided Tour. Please visit Recreation.gov, establish an account, and then you will be able to see and purchase tickets in advance. Some of the tours sell out MONTHS in advance . . . so please PLAN AHEAD!!! I have learned my lesson on this issue at many Parks . . . and next time I will plan better!!I have seen this site many times in my life in photographs and it was thrilling to be finally standing here. Be aware that there is a climb down narrow winding steps and up a tall traditional wooden ladder to get to the site. The Ranger will advise and warn you of the health hazards that getting to the site can pose. Please listen to what the Ranger says!
Years ago, when you visited this site, you were able to climb around the entire structure, however, mainly due to careless or callous visitors climbing where they should not have gone, on walls hundreds of years old, or those that defaced and/or destroyed parts of site by collecting pieces or applying graffiti (God, do I hate people that stack stones everywhere!), the Rangers restrict access to a well-controlled and marked path through the structure.
The Rangers will also explain that the Park Service does not reconstruct anything at these sites unless it is to help preserve the structures from collapse. They do their best to maintain the status quo of what was to what is! Talk to the Rangers and have them expolain the preservation process, I am certain that you will be impressed by the extent of their labors!
It is believed that at one time these structures may have extended high enough to have actually touched the overhanging sandstone cliff face that served as the as the Palace ceiling. The faces of those structures would have been the most exposed to the ravages of time, and have now all crumbled away, yet remnants of them can still be seen clinging to the overhead.This angle shows more of the Palace, including some of the circular “Kivas”. Kivas served, as is believed, as the ceremonial space and what we would consider the living room for each family group. Each Kiva would have had a flat roof constructed of wooden joists and thatch that was then covered in a layer of adobe clay, forming a solid cap that could be walked on top of. Through each cap there would have been a single ladder access that went down into the Kiva. Each Kiva is ingeniously constructed with an air vent that would provide air flow into the kiva to support a fireplace. The Kiva is also connected to the remaining rooms of the structure by an access tunnel. These structures would have been much cooler than the outside in the summer and much warmer to live in during the winter.In discussion with three different Rangers regarding the use of the Palace, consensus is that this really was not a “Palace” since Pueblo peoples did not have that kind of a tribal hierarchy. This may actually have been a site that supported the religious leadership and councils of all of the Pueblo peoples that lived in and around the Mesa Verde complex. Mush is still not known about the exact reasoning of when and why these structures were built, why the Pueblo peoples moved off the top of the mesa and started living in the cliff dwellings.l Although the Raven’s still occupy the mesa, a more raucous bird is this one, the Clark’s Nutcracker. Their voice is loud and piercing . . . almost to the point of becoming annoying . . . and I think they know it!! LOLA very differently shaped plant that I have found only on the mesa, this is a Great Mullein. The bees were making great use of them and were covered in a heavy, yellow pollen.Scattered around the top of the mesa are a number of these tower structures. They are believed to have served as lookout posts for possible raids by neighboring tribes like the Ute. The tower was connected to a Kiva by a narrow tunnel. Access to the tower could only be gained by accessing the Kiva first.Long House is another large cliff dwelling that is believed to have been used by numerous families over 3 – 5 generations before abruptly being abandoned, like all the other dwellings around 1280 AD.Clearly visible in this picture are a few of the storage areas still clinging to the sandstone face of the cliff overhang. At one time, the adobe walls and rooms of the city would have extended upward to reach these storage areasAnother angle of the Long House buildings.Long House is beautiful!! It is just chock full of truly wonderful scenes like this!Some of the first graffiti that was placed at the dwellings was actually from scientists researching and cataloging the ruins. Here you can see that Long House was cataloged as site N0. 15.Mes Verde’s Lowry Pueblo has some unique features in the bottom of the Kiva. When these stone s were uncovered and then viewed by representatives of the Pueblo tribes, the representatives believed that this is a depiction of “Summer Man” . . . . . . and that this is a depiction of “Winter Man.”The ravages of fire are clearly visible across a broad swatch of the mesa top. Some of these fires are started by natural causes such as lightning, but just as many are either arson or set by negligent humans. So far in 2022, the Park has seen 22 small fires and are hoping that they do not see more! The scenery going up the mesa is wonderful, especially after the rains in the morning as the sun is rising.The views along the sides of the mesa are just as stunning!Boisterous Rock WrenSeven-Line SkinkAnd on the way out from Mesa Verde NP, you can find Wilson’s Arch. It is quite the hike upto stand in the hole, or you can take this photo from the road.
Once again, make your plans to visit the park early. The tours fill fast and months in advance . . . and you cannot get to the ruins without tour tickets, and they are not available at the park. You can only get the tour tickets at Recreation.gov.
Mesa Verde NP is definitely worthy of a visit . . . even a return visit! You will learn a lot from the Rangers, and do not be afraid to ask questions. The Rangers love the interaction, and they are very, very knowledgeable.
Moving on . . . I am now somewhere between Texarkana, Texas, and Little Rock, Arkansas. Tonight, I will determine if I go staright to Cincinatti, Ohio, or head up to Cuyahoga NP in northern Ohio. Stay with me and I will let you know the decision!
What the Walrus said . . . 