House and Garden Look Out!

Today we scampered around Mesa Verde and the most popular of the dwellings in and around the cliffs of the mesas. The inhabitants lived in this area from 550AD to 1300AD, the last 100 years in the cliffs (prior to that they were in houses above ground). They lived atop the mesas originally, then, when water became scarce, they moved to the cliff overhangs along the sides of the mesas. Mesa Verde has over 4000 known archeological sites.

We toured Cliff Palace – the largest cliff dwelling here with over 150 rooms with 100-120 people living here. This tour included steep climbs over stone steps and tall ladders, and skinny paths between large rocks. The Ancestral Puebloans were small people, much smaller than us!!!

On to Balcony House – famous for its 3 story ladder that you climb to get into the cliff house, and the 12 foot, 18" wide tunnel you have to crawl through to get out. Of course, it was raining at the time!

All of the sites included Kivas which are underground ceremonial rooms where the men would meet (think ‘mancave’), or where the families would stay when it was cold.

How they got into their homes, I have no idea! Sometimes you could see footholds carved into the rock to the surface, but most of the time there was nothing.

These people left when the 23 year drought reduced their ability to support themselves, having used up the trees, eaten all available meet, and seeing no reprieve. They went south to join the Pueblo Indians. The sites were discovered in 1883 by a prospector. Many excavations took place in the early 1900’s, but there are still archeologists on site working.

Our day included sun, torrential rains and hail – apparently the norm for September. But we weathered it fine and took to the bar at the end of the day. Since we are staying on site, it’s an easy walk to our room where we’ll listen for the elk bugling again tonight.

Food and Drink: I have to say, our picnic lunch was best. Sandwiches with avocado, tomato, grilled peppers, and horseradish flavored cheese – yum!