Our campsite sheltered in the oak trees.
Our Government Shutdown Tour is starting to work out, barely.
Mesa Verde National Park opened yesterday, and will conduct tours today, after which it will close for the season.
Waiting for the tour of the Cliff Palace to begin.
Touring the Cliff Palace.
We took advantage of the one day available for tours to take the Cliff Palace and Balcony House tours.
The sites are at about 7,000’ elevation, so it can get chilly this time of year.
Pretty awesome.
The Cliff Palace was built around 1200 A.D. and supported a population of about 100 people.
The structures were abandoned around 1300 A.D.
Standing in front of a kiva.
Archeologists suspect the dwellings were abandoned due to megadrought and possibly conflict with other populations.
The Cliff Palace was discovered in 1888 by a couple of ranchers looking for lost cattle.
Rocky road.
You access the area via ladders and rock steps cut between the boulders.
You can see several dwellings and other structures along the cliff from Sun Point View.
The Square Tower ruin, which is under repair.
As we waited for our next tour, we stopped at the viewpoints along the Chapin Mesa road.
There are many sites visible from the road, some of which may be accessed by trails in the park.
How to reach the Balcony House.
Next, we did the Balcony House tour. This tour is a little more adventurous, as you have to climb a 32-foot ladder to reach the dwelling.
Did they get this ladder from the Flintstones?
A room with a view.
Archeologists believe this structure was built in the late 1200s, shortly before the entire area was abandoned.
Behind the rooms.
We were thrilled to have lucked into the one day available to tour these sites.
I’ve stayed in worse.
There is a real sense of wonder, especially when you consider that these structures were inhabited for such a short time.
A kiva built into the cliff.
This is an impressive dwelling, as it is built into the middle of a cliff.
Squeezing through the exit.
To leave, you have to crawl through a 12-foot long, 18-inch wide tunnel.
Climbing out.
When it was inhabited, the only access was via toe holds cut into the cliff.
Sketchy, to say the least, but easy to defend against enemies.
The Spruce Tree House.
Another area, the Spruce Tree House, is a half-mile walk that you can tour on your own.
Remnants.
I think I’m being followed.
It’s nice not being on a tour—you can spend as much time as you want where you want.
Nice basement.
Mesa Verde was a lot more interesting and extensive than I anticipated. It would be nice to come back and spend a few days hiking to the more remote sites.
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