Our next stop in Colorado is a park we have never heard of before this trip – Mesa Verde National Park. Mesa Verde National Park is in southwest Colorado. It was established to protect the heritage of the ancient Puebloans and the park contains over 5,000 archeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings. The cliff dwellings are supposed to be particularly well preserved and spectacular – whole cities tucked underneath cliff ledges. It should be a fascinating visit.
We have a four-hour drive from Great Sand Dunes to Mesa Verde National Park. It’s a bit of a stressful drive through long, steep mountains en route. We even have to pull over once to keep the truck from overheating – and we are driving a diesel Ford F250.
We are camping inside the park, and on the way to the campground, we stop at the visitor center to get our passports stamped, book our tickets for a cliff dwelling tour and get Elle’s junior ranger book. Though our campground (Morefield) is in the park (up on the mesa) we have full hookups, very rare in a National Park. We love full hookups which makes life much more comfortable, and we love being right in the park which is much more scenic and convenient for sightseeing. So here we have the best of both worlds. However, there is much drama getting the Airstream situated in the spot as the sewer pipe is at the front of the site and the ground is unlevel. It takes us over an hour and tempers fray. But finally, we are situated in the campsite and hooked up. There are a lot of mule deer meandering around the campground. They are not at all afraid of people; they don’t budge when we walk right by them.
We have two full days to spend in the park. The park is filled with pinyon and juniper trees. And bright yellow snakeweed is everywhere! The first day we venture into the heart of the park for our cliff dwelling tour.
We tour Cliff Palace on a guided ranger tour (the only way you can go). Down the narrow stairs, down, down the cliff. Elle climbs a wooden ladder with a touch of nervousness. Then we see the Cliff Palace and it is breathtaking. Creamy stone and multilevel buildings with towers and subterranean kivas – beautiful. It’s like seeing a mythical lost city. The ranger tells us about the dwellings and the people who lived there: Cliff Palace contained 150 rooms and 23 kivas and was home to about 100 people. After the tour we climb another ladder to get out. This time Elle loves the ladder.
That afternoon we drive the Mesa Top Loop Road, a six mile loop with short trails leading to various pit houses and pueblos and views of several cliff dwellings.
The next morning we take a short hike among the ruins on the ¾-mile trail that leads to the Far View House, four other ancient pueblo villages and a dry reservoir.
In the afternoon we explore the west side of Mesa Verde National Park. The red truck climbs up, up, up and along a meandering 12-mile drive on the Wetherill Mesa and then we hike a half mile down to Step House, another cliff dwelling. We have fun climbing up some of the ladders in the dwelling. The hike down is in the shade but we hike the other trail back up, in the sun, and it is hot! The mesa top is quite barren: mostly burned trees from an old wildfire, interspersed with yucca and the bright yellow snakewood.
We have dinner at the Far View Lodge, at the rooftop bar. The food is fair but the mesa views are beautiful. A great way to end our visit to Mesa Verde.