When we were (much) younger and dating, we went on a road trip to the southwest national parks and Brad loved Mesa Verde and always wanted to go back; we finally did today.
We started with a 9:00 am ranger tour (reservations through recreation.gov; $25 each) to Mug House - it was limited to ten people, and lucky for us, the other eight people on the tour (two families of four) were very nice and enjoyable to spend 1 1/2 hours. (Let's be honest - usually people annoy us - especially children and teenagers - and therefore, their parents.) It was a short and steep hike, maybe two miles RT - what is cool about the entire Mesa Verde area, is that these cliff dwellings are hundreds of years old. Mug House housed about 80 - 100 people during 1100-1200 CE.
We then took a quick one mile jaunt to Step House:
We then got into our car to drive to the "other" area of Mesa Verde where there are mostly car stops to see the ruins.
Square Tower House - the tallest structure at four storeys (1200 CE - 1300CE):
A couple more cliff dwellings that were in use around 1200 CE:
The crown jewel of Mesa Vede - Cliff Palace. From the Mesa Verde website:
Recent studies reveal that Cliff Palace contained 150 rooms and 23 kivas and had a population of approximately 100 people. Out of the nearly 600 cliff dwellings concentrated within the boundaries of the park, 75% contain only 1-5 rooms each, and many are single room storage units. It is thought that Cliff Palace was a social, administrative site with high ceremonial usage.
Finally - Spruce Tree House:
(Mesa Verde website): Spruce Tree House, the third largest cliff dwelling, was constructed between about 1211 and 1278 CE by the ancestors of the Pueblo peoples of the Southwest. The dwelling contains about 130 rooms and 8 kivas, or ceremonial chambers, built into a natural alcove measuring 216 feet (66 meters) at greatest width and 89 feet (27 meters) at its greatest depth. It is thought to have been home for about 60 to 80 people.
Another fun day and Brad has now had his fill of Mesa Verde! 😀
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