Today's scenic outing was spent at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. For many years I've wanted to go see the homes in the rocks built by Pueblos. We talked about doing this trip last year, but didn't make it. Today we did.
The cliff dwellings were built and inhabited between 750 - 900 years ago. Because they were built out of the direct elements, they've survived fairly well. Timber in some of the structures has been tested and dated to 1274 A.D..
Turns out there are over 600 cliff dwellings through the Park, but not too many are accessible. We visited two of the dwellings. Some are self guided tours, others tours require advance ticket purchase for specific times. You buy the tickets for the tour down at the base information station, than drive 25 +/- miles up and into the park to find your tour.
Our first stop was at Spruce Tree House, which is accessible for all by a paved path down to the structure. This was a self guided stop with several Park Rangers available to answer individual questions. While at Spruce Tree we did our 2013 pose - yep, backs to the camera, pointing at some feature. While the paved path was nice, it had several steep areas and switchbacks.
While waiting for our tour to start, we got to experience a brief rain shower. Five minutes after it started, it was over. And it wasn't a downpour so we weren't soaked. In fact, standing in the noon sun just before the rain, it was very hot. With the quick sprinkle, we felt cool and refreshed to do the tour.
Cliff Palace is accessible by climbing down metal and stone stairs. The way out is stone and wood ladders. Some sections were no more than shoulder width Whee!
