Mesa Verde

Spruce Tree House hike, I stopped at the top

The last time we went to Mesa Verde I think I was 12.  This time around, I was merely crippled and unable to do any of the very steep hikes due to my busted knee but Ben took the kids on the tour of the Spruce house, Cliff Palace and the Long House out on the Weatherell Mesa.  I sat in the car and read my book or toured the museum.  When we went to the Weatherell Mesa I rode the tram around the top of the Mesa and looked at the archeological sites.   

Long house from the top.  My kids are in that picture somewhere

Kiva

On one of the tours

Long house

The view from our motel room

There have been many fires at Mesa Verde

More fire damage

We stayed one night in the park in order to get a tour of the Long house first thing in the morning.  The view from our porch was incredible (probably not worth the $$$, but still cool).  Most of the kids seemed to feel that climbing the ladders up and down was their favorite part.  The park gates off the road to the other mesa, so we were first in line in the morning to drive out.  Saw lots of birds and lots and lots of fire damage.  The Southwest is dry, and prone to fires, and the 7 or 8 signs on the way out marking the various fires which have come through really brought that home.