SUNDAY
SEPTEMBER 16, 2012
Today we boarded our mini-vans at 8 AM,
for a day at MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK.
What an experience it was!
It was my first exposure to the
PUEBLOANS and their world.
As stated in the Mesa Verde NP Service
brochure:
"About 1,400 years ago, long before Europeans explored
North America, a group of people living in the
Four Corners region chose Mesa Verde for their home.
For more than 700 years they and their descendants
lived and flourished here,
eventually building elaborate stone communities
in the sheltered alcoves of canyon walls.
Then, in the late 1200s,
in the span of a generation or two,
they left their homes and moved away.
Mesa Verde National Park
preserves a spectacular
reminder of this ancient culture."
For more information, go to: www.nps.gov/meve
Three memorable stops during our day included:
Far View House, Cliff Palace and Spruce Tree House.
At Far View House we saw the first of many KIVAS.
One of our drivers, Aaron,
One of our drivers, Aaron,
was a trained Archeologist and
held us spellbound
with fascinating information throughout the day.
"Kiva is a Hopi word for ceremonial room -
here underground chambers that may be
comparable to later churches.
Based on modern Pueblo practice,
Ancestral Puebloans may have used kivas
for healing rites or to pray for rain,
luck in hunting, or a good crop."
per USPS brochure.
I took an extra minute before getting
back on the bus, to take this
other visitor's picture.
I believe he is a
WESTERN FENCE LIZARD.
Our second stop was at Cliff Palace.
The NPS brochure describes the walk:
"this one-hour Ranger guided tour involves descending
uneven stone steps and climbing five ladders
for a 100 foot vertical climb.
Total walking distance is 0.25 miles."
It was described as Strenuous
on a yellow warning sign.
It neglected to say it was also
a "tight squeeze"
between cliffs
just wide enough for the
series of four ladders
leading back to the
Visitors Center level.
A view looking down on the
Cliff Palace.
Our Ranger guide,ABBY,
telling us some of the
history, and pointing out
special things to notice,
up close.
Two RAVENS
visited the site while we were there.
Looking back as we
prepare to complete the loop
climbing back up to the Visitor's Center.
Can you imagine, trying
to climb this ladder holding
a CAMCORDER, as my
husband did?
I stored my CAMERA
safely in a tote bag,
and waited to take this picture,
when I had made it to the top.
We all felt TRIUMPHANT when we put
our feet on the top rung
of the final ladder.
Our reward was a nice
box lunch at a lovely
picnic site,
under a gorgious blue sky.
The afternoon walk to
SPRUCE TREE HOUSE,
was a 100 foot descent with steep grades,
on a paved path, with
four benches for the strenuous return trip.
It would have been self-guided
but once again,
one of our drivers,
AARON,
added greatly to our enjoyment of this
site with his very informative talk.
AARON,
looking every bit the Park Ranger,
was a wonderful gift to
all of us throughout the day.
FANTASY blessed
us doubly when they provided him
as one of our Drivers.
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