Trail of the Ancients

Currently In: Antonito, CO
Next Up: Questa, NM on our way to Santa Fe and Albuquerque

Ok, well, we just saw part of the Trail of the Ancients (from Mesa Verde to Four Corners) during our stay outside of Durango.  The Ancients were the Ute and Navajo tribes, as well as other pueblo people.
First, another National Park.

Touring this Park gave us the opportunity to continue our education of the ancient puebloans.  Our first visit was to Cliff Palace, a small city built into the side of a cliff.

There is a beautiful view of the canyon on the other side of the city.

We had a tour guide this time - an NPS ranger named Roland.  He gave us some insight into the lives of these people.  They lived here about 800-900 years ago and moved on when the climate/water changed.

We actually had to hike to the Palace, including some stairs.

Here are a couple of close up views of the dwelling.  It was very well preserved!

 Archeologists think that the kiva was a central gathering place and was also used for religious ceremonies.  Note the ledge they sat on.  The pueblo people who loved here were quite sophisticated in the kiva design: there was a roof accessed by a ladder.  In addition, there was a ventilation system that allowed fresh air in and hot air to exit the kiva.

The group stood above the kiva to take a look into this oven.  There is writing on the inside wall that is almost 1000 years old!  I stuck my head in there to look at it, but didn't get a good photo.

Exiting the cliffs consisted of climbing up 3 ladders, just like the native people did.

Time for lunch!  Just above the Cliff Palace.

We also took a self-guided tour of the pit houses (dug into the ground) that were built between 600 and 900 A.D.  In each phase there were improvements made that included more of the dwelling to be above ground.  The pit houses are preserved by keeping them housed in metal buildings.

As we continued our drive through Mesa Verde, we saw many cliff dwellings.  It was interesting to look into a canyon and see 3 or 4 separate communities spread out over several hundred feet.  This 2 tiered home stood out to me.

Spruce Tree House is one the best preserved dwellings in Mesa Verde.  It has been closed for 3 years for safety reasons, but you can still view it from across the canyon.

We walked around a few of the ruins of Far View, a community built around 1000 AD.  There were several repairs being done on one of the homes.

Finally, we took a look at Sun Temple built around 1250 AD.  Archeologists are still not sure what happened here or what it is used for.  But it was big!

A couple of other notes about our time in this National Park.  First, it was hot - 92 degrees most of the time we were there!  So we didn't do any real hiking.  Bummer.  Second, there have been 5 large wildfires in the last 14 years at the park.  You can see large burn scars everywhere.

Lastly, since I drove into the Park so I missed getting a photo of the actual Mesa Verde!  Goodness.  But I did get this photo from one of the turnouts.

On another day, we took a drive down to Four Corners.  The drive down was pretty with some cool rock/sand formations.

Four Corners is a National Monument run by the Navajo.

There is really not much here, but we were able to stand in 4 states at one time.

There are retail stands with arts and crafts made by the Navajo.  We liked the horsehair pottery that uses the hair from the mane or a tail of a horse.  These two young people make the pottery.

The American Flag, along with flags from each of the 4 states and the Navajo Nation flag add to the atmosphere of the Monument.  Quintessential Americana.