Mesa Verde is a prime example of a National Park being established to protect our heritage, instead of providing a recreational area.
With 600 cliff dwellings and over 5,000 total archeological sites, it is the single largest archeological preserve in the United States.
We were lucky enough to tour the Cliff Palace, thought to be the largest cliff dwelling in North America. We were also lucky to get a Native American guide, Rising Buffalo, to lead our tour. He really put perspective to life in the time of the Ancient Puebloans, and caused us all reflect on our relationship with the earth.
Legoland
The ancient puebloan ruins of the Cliff House remind me of lego building blocks.
Use of Space
The builders made very clever use of all the space in these overhanging caves.
Snow on the Point
The entrance into Mesa Verde climbs fast, and we encountered some snow along the Park Point Overlook trail.
A Far View
Amazing brickwork at the Far View House
Keyhole Kiva
A keyhole-shaped kiva in the Megalithic House
Ants Marching
The tour group in the Cliff Palace gives a good perspective of the complex compared to the surrounding landscape.
Contemplation
Colette contemplates a life with no indoor plumbing.
Medieval Fort
This view of Cliff House resembles a medieval European fort.
Rudimentary
The ladders aren’t fancy, but they certainly do the job.
Straight Lines
The Indians did an amazing job of straight lines given the basic technology that they had to work with.
Lookout
Looks like a gun tower to me.
