Mesa Verde National Park

We arrived at Mesa Verde National Park on September 29.  It was nice to learn more of the history then we did during our one day stop many years ago as we were driving a car across the country to Benjamin in Los Angeles.  The mesa was home to indigenous people from as early as the 700’s to the 1200’s.  The cliff dwellings represent the last 100 years of that time period and it was interesting to see how their lives and architecture evolved over that full time.  

On to the photos.

The sculpture at the entrance to the visitor center


Spruce Tree House - named for a large spruce that blocked the view of the cliff dwelling and was cut down.  The tree was not nearly as old as the cliff dwelling and it turned out to be a Douglas Fir.

Square Tower House

Cliff Palace

Balcony House

Fair View Communities - These are pueblos that were constructed on top of the mesa prior to the time that they moved down into the cliff dwellings.

We did take a day off from Mesa Verde to ride the historic Durango & Silverton narrow gauge railroad to see some fall colors.

It was a cold and rainy ride but we still had a good time.

Next stop is the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park.

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