Mesa Verde! |

Since it is the 100 year celebration of the National Parks we’ve really been hitting the parks this summer and came to Mesa Verde in late June. This is our second park this summer and our 3rd this year (Carlsbad 7/15, Sand Dunes 5/16).

It was a really magical place. Ancestral Puebloans lived in this area for several hundred years on top of the mesa before spending the last 80 years in the area in the cliffs – due to horrific ‘drouth’ (poetic form of drought lol) theAncestral Puebloans left the area for good to relocate to modern New Mexico and Arizona. I was surprised at how ‘active’ the park was. Generally, you think of parks as being look/no touching and well if you aren’t into outdoors stuff you can ride the tram/elevator/moving escalator or just sit in the visitors center. This park was still no-touch, but ALL of the activities were strenuous and physically demanding. Plus, even when you are in shape – it’s not like I practice climbing ladders – it was hard.

We hit up the Balcony House (SUPER TOUGH), Long House (THE BEST), and Cliff Palace (The most popular).

Cliff Palace was the 101 of Cliff Dwellings – nice way to dip your feet into the cliff dwellings and had the least physically demanding route/layout.

27396894494_a51bb259b5_c — View from the start of the tour

27398924294_9a9b8404d1_c — View from the side entrance

28012416445_7f68b67566_c — Park Ranger telling us all about a kiva – or spiritual room

Balcony House – this was the most physically challenging cliff dwelling. We had to climb one 30 ft ladder, multiple 10ft ladders, crawl thru a 18 inch x 18 inch tunnel, and climb up the side of a boulder holding on to steel chains. It was quite the experience and I couldn’t imagine living in a place that required so much entry/exit dramatics. Seeing their little foot and hand notches all over the rocks was insane. I mean, the dude gives me shit when I try to take all the groceries from the car to the house in one trip, imagine trying to carry all your harvest stuff down with you…. I would have died. Of course, I think the name Balcony House comes from the fact that they built a little retaining wall to keep from falling off the side…. ‘balcony’.

27934809831_5879c60f52_c — view from Balcony House

27399021093_3bb9305b60_c — the 32 ft ladder – Alisha is excited.

27399228294_31ba65249e_c — that black stuff on the ceiling is smoke from 800 year old fires!

And now everyone’s favorite the Long House – this required a little less than a mile walk into the dwelling. It was really hot on the mesa but thankfully there was a lovely breeze as we embarked on the hike.