Mesa Verde Colorado

We are staying at a little campground in Cortez, Co. for a couple of weeks to check out the surrounding area.  The campground is nothing fancy but has fhu and is clean and quiet.  The biggest reason coming to the area is Mesa Verde National Park.  We did a day trip in to the park yesterday.  The weather was a little windy and cool but sunny.  Our first stop was at the visitor center to get a map and check and get idea of what to expect.  There are several tours that will take you right down into the actual sites, but we opted to do a self guided tour.  There is no way I could hike down into the area and get back out without a helicopter.
There was an interesting statue of an Indian climbing a cliff in front of the visitor center.

I still marvel at how blue the sky is here.

The landscape and views from the lookouts as we climb up the mountain, elevation about 8500 feet, are awesome. There is still snow at the top of some of the mountains.

The first view of a cliff dwelling we come to is Cliff Palace.  Cliff Palace, at about 150 rooms, is the largest cliff dwelling in the park.

There was a Ranger at the lookout and we got an education on the Indians living in the area at that time.  Pretty interesting.  It amazes me at the engineering that went into these dwellings. Ancestral Pueblo peoples made Mesa Verde their home from about A.D. 550 to 1300. For more than 700 years they and their descendants lived and flourished here.  Here is a link to more info on the Cliff dwellings.

There are also Mesa Top sites that are top of the mesas versus under the cliffs.

Mesa Top Sites

Some of these sites are protected by buildings that have been built up around them.

It took us most of the day and enjoyed the area a lot.  It is a must see if you are in the area.

There is lots more to see in the area so we will update you as we go along.

Here are a few more pictures that we took along the way.  Hope you enjoy.

Mesa Verde

Still  Living the Dream..........