Mesa Verde

Since school is about to start and we were in a down-time Terry and I, the grandchildren and thier parents decided to take a short vacation.

Terry put the water in the pasture and we headed out.

Cortez, Colorado is three hours away from us, with Mesa Verde (the Visitor’s Center) an hour out of Cortez. So in four hours we were looking, walking, and touring some of Colorado’s most famous cliff houses.

There are two mesas which are open to visitors, each mesa takes four hours or so to completely see.

Some you drive to and get out and look upon as they are waaaaaay

across the canyon. Others like this one just above (Long House) is open for tours

others you walk down to and then get to walk through out.

This cliff is called Cliff Palace. The time space is 600 A.D. to the middle of 1200 A.D.

You can NOT be afraid of heights, nor have bad knees, or get tired of walking

You get to walk in the footsteps of these very ancient people …here you go up the rock in ancient foot holes

It took four hours on the first mesa and about 6 hours on the second mesa

Everything that goes down, has to come back up.

I was walked out! It was hot, also, heat hovering around the very high 90s. You could see it shimmer off the canyon walls.

Lots and lots of people. It costs to get into the park, and it costs per person no matter the size or age to travel into the large cliffs. The group sizes are regulated so you are not crowded or the site over-whelmed with people.

Times have changed. This made my 6th visit to the park. In the beginning you could just go and do and enjoy. It’s now big business, but still very enjoyable.