After the fun of Silverton, we headed out of Durango--a place we will never visit again, thanks to the Police Officer who pulled me over just before the 65 mile an hour sign, while I was allegedly going 61 in a 45 zone. (I even bought bagels with that guy and said hello to him that morning! It's enough to turn you into a 60's radical.)
But I digress. We left that place which shall not be named again to try something quite novel -- actually visit a national park on our fall national park trip. Miracle of miracles, somebody in DC finally figured out that it was REALLY STUPID to close our National Parks, when people from all over the world, some of whom had been planning the trip for their whole lives, were being barred from seeing "America's best idea." We were thrilled for them and for us that some sense (calling it "common" would be giving the politicians far too much credit) finally prevailed.
We headed to the Mesa Verde visitor center, and no sooner had we arrived, than a reporter asked us what we thought about the whole shutdown thing. As you might guess from the foregoing, we had a few comments on that. Here is the article: http://www.cortezjournal.com/article/20131021/NEWS01/131029985/
After getting that off our chests and buying tickets to visit some of the ruins, we left the visitor center and headed up the steep switchback road that gets you to the top of the mesa. Standing at almost 9,000 feet above sea level, it was cold as we stopped to take the photo above, a view of the high desert valley that is home to Cortez, Colorado, where we would stay the night.
The road to the top still showed the effects of massive fires that ripped through here in 2000, the year Kate was born. Still, the new growth showed signs of fall, and the view from the top was amazing.
Our first stop was Spruce Tree house, one of the ruins in the park that you can visit without reserved tickets. A short hike leads to the ruins.
One of the real draws here is being able to descend into an enclosed Kiva. We made the most of it.
Alden, being his typical creative self, tried to eat the light shafts (where does he get these ideas?) -- I have to say, it was pretty dang cool looking.
Next up was Balcony House, a bit of a mystery in Mesa Verde, as it is hard to get into and out of, and it is unclear what its purpose is. These days, it starts with a climb up this ladder:
The construction is pretty interesting. Not sure I would want to live on the top floor.
Kate spent more time with the park ranger than maybe any other member of our party did. She has a fierce curiosity which I love. She won't rest until she has squeezed all the knowledge she can out of whatever or whoever she comes across.
Alden and his mom explored all the dark corners together.
The shadow casts a funny light here, but you can see that the bottom of the alcove was clearly a sandy beach at one point. Amazingly preserved.
When it was over, we had to leave through this. Don't know what they were up against, but it is pretty clear they didn't want anyone coming up to easily.
We spent the late afternoon and evening indulging my desire to photograph in the setting sun. Here are some of the results:
Canyon that holds the Cliff Palace
Ruins along the canyon near Cliff Palace. Heck of an attic there.
Ruins on top of the Mesa near Cliff Palace.
Cliff Palace.
Unknown ruins near Cliff Palace.
I took pictures until the sun set, then headed out the park road back towards the long descent to the visitors center. As we rounded the bend heading that way, this was the sight that greeted us:
Yep, that day pretty much rocked. Next up, Hovenweep and Monument Valley.
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