July 16, Mesa Verde, Colorado

I was 16 years old and it was likely an American History class that first introduced me to the existance of Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado.  I've been wanting to visit ever since.

This is Cliff House, the crown jewel of Mesa Verde!

"Discovered" in 1888, the cliff dwellings were already a thousand years old and the ancestral Pueblo people that had inhabited them 800 years earlier were long gone, but the collection of sophisticated rooms, towers, plazas and keeping rooms hint at the daily life activities of these nearly forgotten people and of the community that was supported by these amazing cliff dwellings.   The Pueblo people lived in these cliffs for nearly 700 years!  The park contains more than 4000 archeological sites and at least 600 different cliff dwellings!  It is truly mind boggling. 

 I was mesmerized as a teenager by this beautiful place and it was definitly on my bucket list of places I wanted to visit!   Yay.   I got to go.

The drive from the visitor center up through the valley is absolutely stunning.  I swear you can see all of Colorado from there.   It is 15 miles of curving roads and around each corner you get a view either of the red canyons or the long view across the state.  Truly gorgeous.  We are unable to take the long hikes necessary to actually climb through the amazing cliff structures so we satisfied ourselves with the museum displays and the shorter hikes to view points.   It was a perfect day and I'm so glad to have gone.