Even though we actually did a quick tour of the Visitor's Center the day we arrived in Cortez, we did not really go into Mesa Verde National Park.
Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center houses a research and storage facility for the park's museum and a collection of more than three million objects.
Today we went into the park to see some of the ancient pueblos. Unfortunately, Spruce House was the only cliff dwelling open this late in the year. The tour was free and convenient (we took the 3:00 tour), so it was all good! We gathered with everyone at the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum. The museum had quite a collection of artifacts and very informative displays and video presentations that kept us busy while we waited for the tour to begin.
The paved trail to Spruce House descended rapidly into the canyon outside of the museum. Ranger Lyndsey George told us it was an easy 1/4 mile there and a long 2 miles back (uphill was more work, but not really that bad since it was so short). We were told there were more than 600 cliff dwellings within the boundaries of the park and the population was estimated to be more than 20,000 at its peak around 1,250 AD.
During the summer, ranger-led tours cost $4-$20 (to help limit numbers) for all cliff dwelling except Spruce House.
Most of the tours close after Labor Day. Spruce House is the only tour to remain open.
Ranger Lyndsey told us the rooms go back into the overhang another 90 feet!
We learned many of the rooms were used for storage of grains and seeds. The people stored as much as four years worth of food to keep them through difficult growing seasons. They must have been pretty good at sealing the rooms to protect their stores from pests.
The openings are all doors that had slab coverings that fit in them (no windows). Tiny squares held wood beams to support floors/ceilings (since rotted away).
Ranger Lyndsey considered this a very small tour group and told us, in the summer, the tours can include 50 people or more.
Metates and manos were used to grind seeds. Stone fragments in the meal were detrimental to the Puebloan's tooth enamel (so worn away that they developed dental pain early on.)
Doorways are small, but the average male was only about 5'4".
Cliff Palace was closed for the season but could be seen from above from the Cliff Palace overlook.
Cliff Palace is Mesa Verde's largest cliff dwelling.
In the summer, they offer a Twilight Tour of Cliff Palace ($12) with rooms lit up and a Photography Tour ($20) that only allows 10 people. That's a good reason to return before Labor Day next time.
They believe that Cliff Palace contained 150 rooms and 23 kivas (functioned as family-rooms) housing 100-120 people.
Most of the park drives closed at sunset, so we needed to head out to avoid being locked in. The sunset colors were impossible to ignore. A nearly full moon was on the rise, so we made a lot of stops on the way for some artsy shots.
An attempted sunset shot on the go clearly went awry, but still tickled my fancy.
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