We started today at the highest point in Mesa Verde National Park. At 8,500 feet, we could see over 50 miles away.
There is a fire lookout at the top of the mountain. It is fully automated now. It scans the horizon for smoke or fire and will notify the appropriate people of the location of any potential problems.
From this location we could see the path we had hiked the previous day.
After seeing the high altitudes, we moved to where the Pueblos had farmed the area centuries ago. We could see from the plant life that the terraces they had built still supported growth.
The soil was fertile because of the way they had set it for catching water.
In spite of a relatively recent fire, life is still here on the mesa
This sign describes how the terracing works. The greenery in the terrace shows it better.
Our focus for today is touring the abandoned living spaces in the Mesa. This photo and the next show communities in Spruce Tree.
While the 1,000 year age of the structures is amazing, It is even more interesting to contemplate how they got all the materials to the site to build them in the first place.
Between two of the sites, we took a challenging hike to see some petroglyphs. We were on a high ledge for most of the hike. It required flexibility and rock scrambling to move about.
Sometimes we saw unusual formations that required either a very thin person, or taking alternate routes.
In some places, people had carved steps into boulders to ease the trek. It was still steep in many places. Notice the tree that has grown sideways from the rock.
Life clings to everything in this area. Here is a cactus with a gorgeous red flower growing on rock as well.
We have seen lots of rocks with unusual shapes. This one won the prize for most unusual for today. You can walk right through the opening to the other side, or turn in the middle and walk through the windshield of the Flintstones car.
The petroglyph art was very interesting. While we could identify some items in the art work, any intended message was not decipherable from what we could see.
After we reached the petroglyphs, the trail gave new meaning to steep. It turned almost directly up the face of the wall. We were very appreciative of the steps someone had built.
Especially when you compared it to the other climbing we got to do to get back on top of the rim.
After a long challenging hike to see artwork, we drove to see several more cliff dwellings. This one was at Navajo Canyon.
Next we went to Sun Point where you could see numerous cliff dwellings from one place. The variety and complexity of the structures was incredible. This one shows several smaller structures on two levels.
In a different location they had one and two story structures on a multi-tiered space
Here is another of the communities that still remain. We saw more than 10 sites from Sun Point.
This close up shows the level of detail in the construction of each unit.
Here is a close up of part of Cliff Palace, the largest community we can see today. Look at how many people they put into a compact place.
Here is a larger view of that entire community. It is even more impressive when you remember they had to climb cliffs to get in and out.
Our final visit of the day was to Far View. This site was entirely on the top of the mesa rather than on the cliffs. These Structures are believed to be older, but have many similar features to the cliff dwellings.
One thing they did not have in the cliff dwellings was a large reservoir for water. The walls of this reservoir encompass a circle of at least 150 feet in diameter. The walls were between three and four feet high. The deepest part of the reservoir might be six feet because the ground went down in the center. It could hold a lot of water.
Even though the centuries have worn down the buildings, their scope, diversity, and longevity tell us a lot about the people that built them.
