This park is so vast and fabulously interesting that we will split it into two posts. This post will focus on the Cliff Palace dwelling and the next will focus on the Balcony House dwelling.
This cliff dwelling makes one think what life was like as the nomadic peoples tried to settle down a bit and farm the land on top of the mesas. The staff here says that all we look at here is about 80% original and only 20% repair work on the mortar etc to stabilize some of the structures.
Could not resist the urge to wonder what it would have been like to call this place home. The tribes that inhabited the dwelling knew this would not be a forever home as their lore says they were meant to travel south for some reason. This Cliff Palace was only inhabited for a few centuries. It was also always being added onto over time. Many spots could be found where an obvious addition to the original structure was evident.
The happy couple getting ready for the Ranger led tour of Cliff Palace. I am sporting my fashionable back brace to help remind me not to make any sudden twists or turn. We chose Cliff Palace first as there are no places to crawl on hands and knees.
Cannot believe the quality of the engineering involved. The blocks were cut from local stone from river areas more than 2 miles away. The natives did not have horses or pack animals and they did not yet know about the wheel so this was quite the chore. We wondered which lucky members of their society were chosen to do all the hauling?
The views from the Knife Edge hike we took were spectacular. Almost unlimited visibility near the 4 corners area of the country. This is where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah meet. Not sure which state is in the distance here? This is about a 3 mile round trip hike. Very worthwhile.
Gorgeous mesas and buttes all throughout the park.
The video below does the scenery a bit more justice than a still shot:
Laurie caught me hose handed as I spent part of our “day off of touring” washing the vehicle and the camper. Most parks do not allow this obsessive behavior but for a mere $15 we were able to use the precious desert water. They also leant me a hose, brush and ladder and soap. My kind of hospitality.
Loved Mesa Verde!