17 October 2010 We have found ourselves enjoying so many new and exciting places as we continue to travel. The only problem with this is my keeping up with this journal. Today’s journal will have a lot more pictures and far less script. Today we stop at Mesa Verde National Park. This park is the premier archaeological wonder of America. Known as “The cradle of ancient civilizations” and shows the crumbled villages
on rocky ledges sitting high above the floor of the canyons. Some of the sites we saw from a distance across a deep canyon, and then there were others that we were able to hike too,
climb handmade ladders,
or squeeze through rock formations to wonder within. In this picture you'll see a "Kiva". As you can see, it's a round structure with a fire-pit in the floor. It did have a roof with a hole in the center for the smoke to exit AND, it held a ladder for those family members to enter. Notice two things, the square hole in front of the pit and the small wall. The hole is to let air from the outside in, and the small wall is to keep it from blowing directly at the fire and creating a problem with the blaze and smoke...pretty neat.
It’s amazing to think that at the peak of the population here at Mesa Verde there were over 6000 Anasazi people residing here over a 100 year span. It’s also interesting that the life span for the Anasazi was only 35 years, so I guess it must have meant they lived here for 3 generations.
We found a campground at the base this magnificent plateau (see the picture above) and drove the 20 miles up to the top and the Visitor Center/Museum. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed the fall colors as much as I’ve enjoyed those of the surrounding hills...they are magnificent !!!
We found a campground at the base this magnificent plateau (see the picture above) and drove the 20 miles up to the top and the Visitor Center/Museum. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed the fall colors as much as I’ve enjoyed those of the surrounding hills...they are magnificent !!!
We drove the mesa twice over two days easily felt we could do it many more. My only wish to make this drive better would have been to have my son in laws Porshe Boxter to do it in as the roads were FULL of 15-20 mph turns climbing at a 8 to9 percent grade on a freshly resurfaced roadway…(wishful thinking on my part…). Oh yes, I've found my thing...the Native American flute and I MUST play it while here in this magnificent place and sitting high above the canyons floors below.
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