On Wednesday, June 25, 2008 we drove out to the Mesa Verde National Park.Mesa Verde National Park was created in 1906 to preserve the archeological hertiage of the Ancestral Puebloans, both atop the mesas and in the cliff dwellings below. The park includes over 4,500 archeological sites; only 600 are cliff dwellings.
Mesa Verde National Park preserves a spectacular reminder of a group of people that chose this area for their home. For more than 700 years they and their decendants lived and flourished here, eventually building elaborate stone communities if the sheltered alcoves of the canyon walls. Then, in the late 1200's. in the span of a generation or two, they left their homes and moved away.
Mesa Verde National Park preserves a spectacular reminder of this ancient culture. Archeolo
gists have called these people Anasazi , from the Navajo word sometimes translated as "the ancient foreigners." They are now called Ancestral Puebloans, reflecting their modern descendants.Local cowboys discovered the cliff dwellings
in the 1880's, when they were out looking for stray cattle. Many have sought to understand these people's lives but with no written record and with much of what was important in their lives has perished, we will never know the whole story. Yet for all their silence, these structures speak with a certain eloquence. They were experienced builders, as the construction testifies. Walls are tall and straight and have withstood the tests of time and elements. Smoke-blackened walls and ceilings are reminders of the biting cold these people lived with for several months each year. It is also known that these people raised crops, and hunted. They also made pottery and wove beautifully decorated baskets.The first photo is of Spruce Tree House, the third largest cliff dwelling in the park. It was constructed between A.D. 1200 and 1276 by the Anasazi. The dwelling contained about 114 rooms and eight kivas (kee-vahs), or ceremonial chambers, built into a natural cave measuring 216 feet at greatest width and 89 feet at its greatest depth. It is thought to have been home to about 100 people.
The second photo is of the Cliff Palace, which is the largest of the cliff dwellings in the park. We did not get up close to this dwelling as you need to go with a park guide and climb down steep ladders.
As we drove through the park we noticed that there were many areas that had been destroyed by forest fires at one time or another. I asked one of the rangers how long it would take for the forest to regrow and I was told that it would take about 100 years for the forest to be as lush as it had once been. These fires had been started by lightening. Some of the fires went out by themselves and some were fought by local fire-fighters
We drove around and found a wonderful picnic area and had our lunch then we took the tram that takes you around the Wetherill Mesa, about a 45 minute ride that makes several stops that you can get out and view several other cliff dwellings.
It was a very interesting day and the scenery was spectacular! The mountain here are so different from the ones that we rode through on the train.
Well, that is all for today. Not sure where we will venture next Until later, take care.
Candy and Johnny
