Mesa Verde National Park (7th National Park, Est. 1906)
Although I have been more than excited for every aspect of this summer's trip, it was this stop that I have been looking forward to the most. Check this one off my bucket list-
Mesa Verde National Park!
Mesa Verde has one of the largest collection of Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings in the United States. This area was inhabitated for over 700 years, from 600 to 1300 AD. More presently, the Colorado Plateau had been home to the Ute tribe and they used the Mesa Verde region for their winter home but never lived in the cliff dwelling because they believed they were the sacred land of their ancestors, the "ancient people." In 1863. a prospector named Jon Moss brought with him a photographer who documented some of the dwellings. Jon Moss published his findings and others soon followed, William Henry Jackson, Virginia McClurg, Fredercik Chapin, and many others who all documented the cliff dwellings in various publications. Unfortunately, these people also took with them many artifacts found within the dwellings for their own personal collections or sold them around the world.
Virginia McClurg knew with increasing popularity the area needed protecting. She began a campaign in 1887 to inform the US Government and Europe about the importance of preserving the historical artifacts and the dwellings of Mesa Verde. It became out Nation's 7th National Park in 1906 and in 1978 designated a World Heritage Site.
Visitor Center
In order to tour 3 of the largest, most popular cliff dwellings you will need to purchase tickets, before you enter the park, at the National Park Visitor Center . This is in addition to the entrance fee to get into the park. We purchased a National Park's Annual Pass, which gets us into all the National Park units in a year, and then purchased tickets to tour the cliff dwellings.
Mesas, Views of 3 States, Wildlife and Fauna
 |
| Great Mesa with Utah in the distance. |
 |
| Rocky Mountains in the distance |
 |
| You can see for more than 50 miles, New Mexico in the distance. |
 |
Coyote crossing the main park road.
|
 |
| Male Yellow-Headed Collard Lizard, the females are tan or brown. |
Mesa Verde is home to around 60 wild horses. We were fortunate to see several herds of them as we drove through the park.
We spent 2 days exploring the park; there are over 600 cliff dwellings and 5,000 archeological sites, in the 52,485 acre park.
Long House
Once you leave the visitor center, it is an hour drive to the lower part of the Wetherill Mesa. To get to Long House, we drove 12 miles on the fire road until we arrived at a small visitor center. The Long House tour is a 2 hour Ranger Lead tour, which includes a 2.5 mile round trip hike.
Mesa Top Loop and Cliff Palace Loop Roads
 |
| Closer look at Spruce Tree House |
Balcony House
This was a challenging cliff dwelling to visit. First, we had to climb a 32 foot ladder. Then climb through some tight passages, becareful not to fall off the cliff the house sits on, then take another ladder and series of original carved rock stairs up the face of the canyon. And to quote Ranger Pollack, who guided us, " Soooo, yeah. Cool!"
"Balcony House, with its well-preserved rooms, kivas, and plazas, stands as a tribute to those who built and occupied the site in the thirteenth century, the ancestors of the Pueblo Indians of Arizona and New Mexico. Balcony House is also a tribute to the men who excavated and stabilized the site in the early part of the twentieth century..." (Kathleen Fiero, Balcony House: A History of a Cliff Dwelling, Copyright 1999 by Mesa Verde Museum Association.)
 |
| The view of the canyon as we headed down to Balcony House |
 |
| A view of the ladder we accended to get into Balcony House. |
 |
| Dunovan is in one of the tunnels we had to go through in Balcony House. |
 |
| This a called a Kiva, a family dwelling where stories were told, religous rituals were held, and where a family may have lived during the cold winter months. |
 |
| This balcony between 2 levels is why Balcony House has its name. |
 |
| Brodey climbing out of Balcony House |
 |
| Climbing up and up! |
Cliff Palace Twilight Tour
We booked a Twilight Tour of the Cliff Palace. The largest cliff dwelling, located in the largest alcove of the Great Mesa.
Cliff Palace contained 150 rooms and a population of around 100-150 people. This is a lot larger than most of the dwelling, which only contained 1-5 rooms. It is thought that this dwelling may have been the hub for social, spiritual, and political gatherings.
 |
| This part of the dwelling incorporated this large boulder. |
 |
| A circular tower is rare in most cliff dwellings. |
 |
| We weren't allowed to get closer than walking around the outside of the dwelling. |
I think Mesa Verde shows us the imporatance of protecting our National Parks. These dwelling are not referred to as "ruins" because the ancestors of these people still come back to visit them. They believe their ancestors still inhabit them today. If it wasn't for the protection of the National Park System, we wouldn't be able to visit and appreciate them today and they wouldn't be around for generations to come.
