Mesa Verde

Whew! We are back to a hotel that has fast router! WooHoo!! Sticking to the cities has it's advantages. Two days ago, Friday, we were here, in south west Colorado.
To get into Mesa Verde, you start at about 5800 feet. Once you enter the park, you climb to 8800 feet, so the view you get is fantastic!

Mesa Verde is a park showcasing the dwellings of the puebloan Indians dating from the 1200's. Although some of what archeologists have found dates back to 575 AD.

Some of the cliff dwellings you can see from the park road. There are ranger led tours given to a few of the dwellings, if you are willing to ascend a ladder like this:

and this:

If you are willing to brave such climbs, you can see kiva's that the Indians built and used like this one.

If you are looking for more of a tame, calm experience, you can elect to wait for those who are daring. It makes it all worth it when you are able to capture the Pinyon Jay, a beautiful bird native to Colorada, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona.

And just to give you a general feel for where these Indians chose to make their home, take a look:

No easy way in, no easy way out. Steep mountain climbs were a part of their daily life. I would either never leave or never go home!

The Indians put this Yucca plant to good use. It is a hard, stiff, unyielding plant. They would use the fibers to make baskets, and weave the fibers together to make rope and blankets. Nothing wasted. The Indians were the first true recyclers! Yucca planta grow out here like weeds! They are among the first plants to come back after a fire. I guess the Indians who lived here were just as hardy as the Yucca.