Mesa Verde has been on my bucket list for a few years.
When I was scheduled to record a DVD in Loveland, Colorado in early May,
it seemed like a perfect opportunity to add some travel to the itinerary.
Mesa Verde is in the south west corner of Colorado, so we had over 300 miles to travel
to get here after the taping was done.
The first look surprised me. Above is the entrance to the park.
It is a pretty long climb up to the top of the mesa, where the cliff dwellings are
tucked into the ledges.
The valley below looks like a rich agricultural area.
We learned this valley was farmed extensively 1000 years ago when
the cliff dwellings were inhabited, and people also farmed on the
top of the plateau. Apparently, at it's peak, about 5000 people were thought to
inhabit the mesa.
Here's the view from the top - looking south. We were on the lookout for some of those
cliff dwellings, which are scattered all around - there are many of them here.
I've lived here in CO for 10 years and still haven't seen the Mesa Verde! There are just SO many good places to go. Have you ever heard of the Colorado Monument? Some of the oldest exposed rock on earth (3 or 4 billion years old, I believe) are there. It's gorgeous, and a pretty well kept secret.
ReplyDelete