First, a little history. Mesa Verde National Park is home to over 4,000 archeological sites, including pueblos, cliff dwellings, and pit houses. Some of these sites date back to 550 A.D. and the Ancient Puebloans lived here for over 700 years. Then for reasons unknown, the inhabitants vanished in the mid to late 1200s. One of the theories is that severe drought made it impossible to grow crops and being unable to feed themselves and their animals, they picked up and left the region. Since the Spanish didn't arrive until the 1500s, this reason is ruled out for their disappearance.
By comparison, we have only been here for a little over 400 years since the Pilgrims arrived in 1620. Will we still be here in 300 years? Overpopulation, droughts, widespread massive forest fires, and global warming seem to suggest that we likely will not survive. If you're interested in more history of this amazing park, this link will take you to the National Parks Mesa Verde website.
Wetherill Mesa: The drive through the park splits into two distinct roads, both heading south over separate mesas. We took the western-most road first, winding up to the top of the mesa and looking out over the southern Colorado plateau.
It was a 27-mile drive to the end and to the Step House trail. This is the only ruin you can actually walk through without a guide. The 1-mile loop path took us down to and through the cliff dwelling. I am always humbled in places like these and feel privileged to be able to walk in the footsteps of the ancients. I try to imagine what their life was like, what they felt, and what they thought. The construction is truly amazing and the fact that they thrived here for 700 years is incredible.
Chapin Mesa: We drove back 12 miles up the Wetherill Mesa to Chapin Mesa Road, which then headed 11 miles south to the Mesa Top Loop. Cliff dwellings on this road are only accessible by tour guides, but the park wasn't offering any tours the day we were there. There are several cliff dwellings you can see from the road or by taking short hikes.
The first one we came to was Spruce Tree Terrace, which the park describes as the best-preserved cliff dwelling.
This one was in a very narrow canyon and well hidden in the pines. A short but very steep hike along a paved path brought us to the only open viewing area of the dwelling.
Our next stop was viewing the various pit houses on the top of the mesa. These were simple homes with a central fireplace for cooking and warmth. Logs made up the walls and various materials were used to cover the top and sides for protection from the elements.
Continuing on around the loop, we came to the Sun Temple and the Cliff Palace overlook. The Sun Temple was used for ceremonial rituals as well as a social gathering place. It was difficult to get pictures of this because the path leads you alongside the building, with no high ground to look over or into it. This was really the best we could do:
From here you can also view the Cliff Palace. Since the road to the Cliff Palace was under construction and closed while we were there, this viewpoint was as close as we could get to it. The Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in North America and is estimated to have been built between 1190 and 1280. It contains more than 150 rooms and 20 kivas (round rooms for religious and social rituals). Due to its size and location, it was very challenging to get a good picture of the entire dwelling.
This was a day well spent and we highly recommend a trip to this beautiful place. It reminds us that there were people here before us and makes you wonder what future generations will think of the things we leave behind.
This link will take you to a few pictures of the park: Mesa Verde Photo Album
Click on any photo to enlarge it to full screen.
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Peace
Pete & Lori
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