On Wednesday, May 2, we visited Mesa Verde National Park. It was very interesting. Mesa Verde was home to the Ancestral Puebloans for more than 700 years. Their dwellings were built high on cliff walls in alcoves. Since these alcoves are protected from the elements, they are among the best-preserved cliff dwellings. There are Park Ranger guided tours as well as self-guided tours. The weather was not the greatest so we opted for the self-guided tour, which was about a half-mile walk down to the Spruce Tree House. The first half wasn’t bad – it was all down hill. Yep, you guessed it that means the second half was all up hill. It was worth it though. Once back from that, we drove one of two loop roads. (The other does not open until Memorial Day weekend.) On this drive we stopped at the Cliff Palace Overlook. This is where one of the Ranger guided tours leaves from and also provides a great view of the Cliff Palace and the Cliff Valley. It was on this loop road that we saw the deer. As we were coming down the mesa, the storm clouds were closing in. We were safely back in the campground before the storm hit.
From our campsite at the Cortez/Mesa Verde KOA, we had a great view of Mesa Verde. Last night the full moon rising over the mesa was really beautiful. The picture doesn’t really capture it but I tried. (pictures have been posted)