The Mesa Verde National Park

Today, we are headed to the Mesa Verde National Park, where the dwellings of the Ancestral Pueblo people, who called Mesa Verde their home during 500s–1300s A.D., can be found. Perhaps most fascinating are the cliff dwellings built in the alcoves in the surrounding canyon sides, where the Ancestral Pueblo people retreated from the mesa tops during the 1200s. Shortly after that the people disappeared – presumably due to a long period of droughts, as evidenced by the annuli of the well-preserved pine logs that were used to support the building roofs, or an internal struggle.

Image: The Square Tower House inside the alcove in the east side of the Navajo Canyon
Image: The Square Tower House inside the alcove in the east side of the Navajo Canyon
Image: The Cliff Palace in the east side of the Cliff Canyon. Sadly, there is no self-guided option for the palace and all the today's guided tours were already booked.
Image: The Cliff Palace in the east side of the Cliff Canyon. Sadly, there is no self-guided option for the palace and all the today's guided tours were already booked.
Image: A two-store building in the northern part of the Balcony House cliff dwelling complex. Balcony House is located inside an alcove in the west side of the Soda Canyon. There is no self-guided option for the Balcony House either, but there were thankfully still tickets available.
Image: A two-store building in the northern part of the Balcony House cliff dwelling complex. Balcony House is located inside an alcove in the west side of the Soda Canyon. There is no self-guided option for the Balcony House either, but there were thankfully still tickets available.
Image: A kiva -- a round underground building used presumably for combined religious, social, and utilitarian purposes -- in the southern part of the Balcony House cliff dwelling complex
Image: A kiva -- a round underground building used presumably for combined religious, social, and utilitarian purposes -- in the southern part of the Balcony House cliff dwelling complex
Image: A building in the southern part of the Balcony House cliff dwelling complex
Image: A building in the southern part of the Balcony House cliff dwelling complex

Our next stop will be the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

Written on July 20, 2016