Mesa Verde National Park (Cortez) and onto Moab

Saturday, September 18, 2021
Cortez, Colorado, United States
Morning started at Mesa Verde National Park about 10 miles from Cortez, CO. So different from  Bryce and Zion…fewer visitors there than the other two parks.  No free shuttles to, from, and  inside the park like the other two parks  (The Mesa Verde Visitor Center was closed due to Covid.) To see the pithouses, Pueblo dwellings, and cliff dwellings, you drive about 20-25 miles into the park with lots of switchbacks.   We were amazed at how the Ancestral Pueblo communities survived and thrived for over 700 years in this area of shrub, brush, and rock formations.
If you want to see how much it costs today to enter Mesa Verde, you’ll see a photo of the entrance fees.
There are rock slides, so there were caution signs when we first entered the park.  Also, you can see the devastation caused by fires. They say that 95% of fires are caused by lightning and 5% by people.  Since 1996, 5 large fires burned almost 29,000 acres (over 50%) of the park.  Lots of dead trees seen on the roadside.  Reminded us of the fire devastation at Glacier National Park in Montana.
We drove to Park Point which is the highest point in Mesa Verde, elevation 8572 feet.  Spectacular view of the park, and the Four Corners region.  A unused fire lookout tower is standing there.  Since the advent of cameras and technology, no one monitors the park and lives there.
On the drive, we saw a group of about 15 motorcyclists ahead of us.  Looked like a group of weekend warriors.  
We drove the Mesa Top Loop Road (6 miles long) that had various stops that showed you how and where the Pueblos actually lived.  
The first stop was at an actual pithouse, 600 A.D. where they dug into the earth and built wall and roof structures out of mud and wood.  Reminded Dick of igloos.  
Next stop, the Navajo Canyon Lookout with beautiful vistas into the canyon.
Then, the Square Tower House Overlook, A.D. 1200-1300, the tallest, 3 story structure in the park.  It had eight kivas and 60 rooms. You wonder how the residents got to this structure.  The preservationists say they carved hand and toe holds and ropes and ladders to scale the canyon walls.  Tours are offered to hike and tour the Square Tower House.  The tours said strenuous hike, so we were happy to see them from afar!
Next the pithouses and Pueblos, A.D. 700-950.  These are actual pithouses and pueblos lived in by these people many years ago.  You saw three different aged villages showing the progression of materials and technology, from First Village (850 C.E.) made of wood and mud to Second and Third Villages made of masonry.
One of the more impressive cliff dwellings is the Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling in the U.S.  Research showed it had 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 units.  
We left the park in Colorado and about an hour later we were in Utah.  Saw some different, strange structures that we couldn’t figure how they were formed and even if they had a use as one seemed to have an entrance on the bottom.
Tonight, we had dinner at the Moab Brewery, and shared a dinner of tri-tip brisket, ribs, and sausage with elotes (Mexican street corn) and onion rings.  Tried a couple of local beers.  All very good and glad we shared the meal.
Tomorrow, we arranged for a 1/2 day tour of Arches.  Will report back then!
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