Before
we left Creede, we stopped at the Chamber of Commerce
for about 45 minutes to check email since we will be camping for the
next 3 nights and will be out of contact. Next was a quick
stop
at a bank in South Fork to get some cash at an ATM (the bank
charge was only half of what they wanted in Creede.)
We
were on the Silver Thread Scenic Byway and it was indeed very scenic!
The picture at the left is a view from an overlook between
Wolf Creek Pass and Treasure Falls. There was another long,
steep grade down the mountain to the Treasure Falls rest area where we
stopped and hiked about a mile to the falls. It was a good
break for us and the car (the brakes were
smelling suspicious) and a gorgeous falls. It is so
long that I couldn't get back far enough to get the whole falls into
one picture - the one at the right through the trees is as close as I
could get to all of it. But we hiked right up to it and I
have loads more closer pictures in the "Photos" section. 
The
one more picture worth sharing here is of what I think is Ramalina
menziesii, also
known as Lace Lichen, which is actually a combination of fungus and
algae. It reminds me of the Spanish Moss (which I
think is also a lichen) in the south. We
passed this tree on the hike to Treasure Falls and John captured it
nicely in the picture! We didn't see it anywhere else on this
trip.
Past
Pagosa Springs, we passed Chimney Rock (right) which was definitely
worth a picture! We got to Mesa Verde around 3:30 PM and
checked into Morefield
Campground. We found an amazing camp site (#81) especially
since most of the available sites had no shade at all. This one is
right
across the road from a restroom (flush toilets and running water even)
and
is totally surrounded by trees. So
not only do we have privacy,
but quite a bit of shade, too. We put up our shade canopy
anyway
which was handy because it apparently rains (lightly) for half an hour
or so every afternoon. However, we could type, read or cook
right
through the sprinkles. 
The
only slight inconvenience is that
the car gets parked on the side of the road and the campsite is down a
slight incline. I just looked at it as good exercise and we
started calling the car "upstairs" - as in "the bowls are in the
cupboard upstairs." John made a stew for supper, using up some chicken, leftovers, potatoes. It was quite good. Then we went to do laundry and discovered there is a sort-of WiFi connection in the laundromat. It's as slow as a dial-up (maybe it IS a dial-up) but I managed to post a couple of pictures on Facebook while the clothes were washing.
Laundry done, we drove up to the amphitheater for the 9 PM talk on "transportation." The topic was somewhat interesting - looking at old pictures of the park and its roads and how things have changed since it became a National Park in 1906. This became more real to us the next day as we drove around the park and saw some of those original roads! But it got cold and it was threatening to storm so we only stayed for about half an hour before going back to snuggle into our tent.
Thursday July 8
It was good sleeping last night: our comfy air mattress and cool, but not cold, weather. After an oatmeal breakfast, we repacked everything (due to concerns about bears we have to load up anything food-related after every meal) and headed down to the Far View area. We noticed a tire was low and stopped to get air at the service station but nobody was anywhere around. You could buy gas with a credit card at the pump but no live person was there and no exterior air hose. We crossed our fingers, bought an emergency "stop leak" can and just proceeded. (The whole rest of the time we were in the park, we never did find anyone at that service station, though the bay door was sometimes open. Fortunately, the tire did not get any lower either.)
There
is road construction all summer on the main road in and out of the
park, which means that sometimes we have to wait 10-15 minutes but
that's okay. I was glad to see that most people were very
patient with this - the need for the resurfacing was obvious and we saw
progress made each day. We gave ourselves two full days at
Mesa Verde and I'm glad that we did. We could take our time,
so we stopped at several awesome overlooks on the way down to Far View.The first stop was the Montezuma overlook. In the picture above on the left, we are looking across the Montezuma Valley at the Abajo Mountains in Utah. The one on the right is the Knife Edge, within the park. (Tonight we will take a hike and approach the Knife Edge from the other side.)
Our next stop was Park Point, the highest point
of the park at 8572 feet. It was well worth the short hike
(about half a mile) as it had a totally wonderful 360º view
and
all the mountains were identified at the lookout points. We
were especially glad we
had stopped there because by the time we came back
this afternoon they had closed that road because they
were paving right there! At the left
(you can tell it's rather windy up there by the "wind hair") we are
posing with Sleeping Ute Mountain behind us. Other views from Park Point are shown below. On the left, above the mesa, you can barely make out the outline of Shiprock, a volcanic peak in New Mexico, about 65 miles away, 7175 feet high. The center is a totally different type of view just looking in another direction. To the right is part of the trail leading up to Park Point. What we're seeing here is the result of lightning fires in 1996, and then again in 2000 (though I have read that the lack of fuel - since the area was still recovering from 1996 blaze - actually helped to limit the 2000 fire in that area). It is said that Park Point gets more lightning strikes than any other location in the country other than somewhere in Florida. Throughout our visit here we saw lots of similar fire damage, but evidence that areas are recovering nicely.
The
third place we stopped this morning was at the Geologic Overlook.
The information about the geology of the area was quite
interesting but the views were somewhat similar to the earlier ones.
I was, however, totally charmed by this Mariposa
Lily
(left) - I had not seen one of those before. From there we
went
down to the Far View Visitor Center and picked up some trail
guides to places we wanted to go, because our experience has been that
they are often not available at the trails themselves. We saw
the
long line for guided tour
tickets and, while we do want to take one tour, it was clear that we
should wait and get them tonight back at the
campground. (The ranger station at the campground
is open
and sells tickets in the evenings from 5 - 8:30 PM.
Much
easier!) 
Our
last stop on the way down to the Chapin Mesa was a self-guided
area: the Far View Sites. I had the booklet that told us all
about what we were seeing - I was glad I had bought that one because
some of the ruins we would not have even found had I not had
the
little map! The ruins here
are all very reminiscent of what we
saw in Chaco Canyon (New Mexico) a few years ago. It is known
that the Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon peoples were trading partners and
some of the construction and cultural traits probably were
shared
as well. In the Far 
View House (not pictured)
we saw the first of
many kivas - the circular rooms, typically with seating around the
outside, sometimes tunnels leading to towers or other parts of the
community, and probably used as social or ceremonial gathering
places. Just a short walk away is Coyote Village (above,
right) where
we could walk through the ruins and get a better look into a kiva - see
the seating ledge around the side?
When this area was excavated they found 30 ground floor
rooms, 5
kivas and a circular tower. Nearby we saw Mummy Lake which
apparently served as a 90 foot diameter reservoir for the Far View area
between 900-1300 A.D. The Far View Tower (left) was an
above-ground round structure built with two
courses of stone
(indicating later construction). There are 3 nearby kivas and
16
small, one-story, single course masonry rooms in the complex. 
Continuing
on down the main park road, we stopped at the Chapin
Mesa picnic
area for
lunch. I finally got a vague picture of the little bird that
has
been entertaining us since we got here - they have a lovely warble but
are good hiders. My best guess is a Juniper Titmouse.
Spruce
Tree House is the best preserved cliff dwelling in the park.
It
is a self-guided tour; again, I was glad to have the guide, though
there are rangers available at the "open" sites to answer questions.
First, the view as we walked down to it - we'll see later
today
and tomorrow that this type of overhang is a favorite site for
cliff-dwellers. That picture is also (to me) a great example
of
the many different shades of green we saw in Colorado. This
site
had a nearby spring which accounts for the lush vegetation and
undoubtedly also was a bonus to those living here. 90-95% of
Spruce Tree House is original - 
very
little stabilization was needed (park policy in general is to reinforce
existing structures for stability, but not to restore); it
was built in the 1200's A.D. and contains about 114 rooms and 8 kivas.
This picture on the right shows a courtyard, where much of the ordinary daily life would go on. The wall behind it is actually 3 stories - what appears to us to be windows were really doors! The speculation is that the blackened ceiling is due to fires, primarily for warmth in the winter. The ladder tops protrude from a kiva - that is the entrance to it. We also can see the original wooden supports for a balcony on the top level.
Adjacent to
the courtyard are these metates, or grinding bins (left), where women
would kneel,
probably using the back wall for support, and use the hand stones to
grind grain, nuts and roots. 
The
rocks at the top of this wall to the right are actually original - a
dry wall that has been that way for hundreds of years. Did
they
run out of mortar? Or was this a repair? Who knows.
We saw this type of dry, stacked rock, construction in
Ireland,
too, at the "beehive huts" that are thought to date back
to B.C.
It is still amazing to me to that the huts, like these walls,
are
still standing! 
In the picture to the left you can see some of
the walls of the "back rooms" that would be accessed by the small doors.
Part
of a balcony is still standing (hanging?) on the left side; above the balcony, if
you look carefully, you can see that a doorway has been blocked up
(remodeling) and in the front another kiva, this one (like most) has
lost its roof. Finally, some
interior decorating
to the right - an attempt to brighten up the brown sandstone
with
a colored design. We will also see hand prints later - a more
personalized design. Our last tour for the day was the Mesa Top Loop: driving around a 6 mile loop and stopping at various sites that could be seen from the road or were just a short walk away. It's all very well laid out with lots of information available.
The Navajo
Canyon view is remarkable for its green-ness. The
mesas average about 18" of precipitation a year that supports much
vegetation, hence the name Mesa Verde. The Pithouse is
protected from
the elements by an enclosure - Ancestral Puebloans lived in shallow
pits, usually covered with mud roofs, before they began building cliff
dwellings
- around 500-600 AD. During excavation, some pithouses have been
found underneath of later adobe structures. It should be
obvious
where the
Square Tower House gets its name! Notice how, set back under
the
overhang, visitors wouldn't even know it was there from the top of the
mesa.
We
were pretty burned out - both exhaustion and heat - by 3 PM and
stopped back at the Spruce Tree Terrace gift store
and cafe for snacks. John had a beer and I had an
ice cream sandwich. We both felt
much cooler! While we didn't get stormed
on,
it was certainly going on nearby - John took this picture on our way
back to the campground (I was driving).We stopped at the store when we got back to camp, intending to use the WiFi, but it was way too slow to be helpful this afternoon – I gave up even trying to retrieve email. So we just bought some supplies for tomorrow: buffalo burger, elk brats, ice, and wood. The meat was frozen so will do fine in the cooler for a day.
Back at camp, I fixed a couscous dish
for supper, using
up the rest of the chicken and adding onion, carrots, garbanzos, raisins and cumin. We went up to
the ranger station and got our tickets for the Long House for 11 AM
Friday. 
Due to the construction, she said we should allow 2
hours for the drive just to be safe.
Then we
had showers, put on some warmer clothes (jeans,
jacket) and walked the Knife Edge Trail for a sunset viewing.
This trail follows part of the roadbed of an old (1914) access road
into the park, approaching the Knife Edge from the north (whereas this
morning we saw it from the south). It was
fantastic. We
had thought maybe it was too cloudy and not worthwhile, but I'm so glad
we tried it anyway. We
saw probably 6 mule deer (picture at left taken by John) who mostly
ignored us. We saw views of the park and its surroundings that we
hadn't seen before and watched a
spectacular sunset behind the Abajo mountains. We even
managed to get back to the car before total dark, though we had brought
flashlights along in case. What a great day!
Friday July 9
We had packed lunches last
night so we could get an early start for our Long House tour, and had
thought that the "all you can eat" pancake breakfast at the Knife Edge
Cafe there at the campground would be a quick and easy breakfast,
too. Wrong. Do not ever go there unless you are not
in a hurry! 
I had assumed it would be a "pay as you go in and
then start eating pancakes" set up like every other pancake breakfast
I've ever been to. Nope. You placed individual orders (including drinks,
sausage, etc.) and then they called your name when your order was
ready, with each person getting 3 pancakes. Nobody went back
for more... in fact, I don't even know how they'd have done
that given that they were serving in the order the orders were
received. They were thick, good pancakes, but it took a long,
long time - our order was taken right away but we waited an hour to be
served since only one person was cooking pancakes. We still got off around 9:10 AM and actually had tons of
time as we got to the Wetherill Kiosk at about 10:15 AM. These
first pictures set the scene - the right one shows fire damage from
2000; recovery is very slow. Above left shows the general
character of that area.
The
10:30 tour had room for two early birds so we didn't have to sit around
for half an hour. Our guide was a newbie but she did a pretty
good job. She was better at answering questions than
remembering everything she wanted to tell us, so we asked a
lot! A tram took us to the trail head and the hike was less
than half a mile downhill (of course it seems much longer coming back
up). The image to the left shows the layout of the
site. As we have seen before, there is a large courtyard and
a couple of levels of rooms, along with numerous round kivas.This was a very interesting cliff dwelling – we saw some of the early pithouses and how the community built out from there. They had started agriculture
by
then and we saw some 
ancient check dams on the trail down, where
they would try to capture some of the runoff from the occasional rains
and let it seep into the soil rather than just flowing away and
carrying the topsoil with it. This created terraces very suitable
for gardening. These were multi-level buildings – we had to climb ladders (picture to the left) to get to the upper levels. In the right picture, you can see remnants of rooms up on what might be called a shelf. Because of their size and location, it's believed that they were used for storage, possibly of food supplies.
On the left, a hand print adds personalization to one of the rooms and to the right is a good view of a kiva. The pit in the center is a fire pit; the rock behind it is a
deflector
and the opening in the wall behind that
is a ventilation shaft that opened onto the floor above. 
The
small hole in front of the fire pit had religious significance - it is
called a sipapu
and represents the opening through which man arrived on
earth. A bonus that came with this tour was watching a kestrel hawk tangling with a raven. Apparently they both have nests on the top of the cliff and they perform their battle antics several times a day until the fledglings are grown! Such beautiful birds, and they put on quite a show for us. Unfortunately they were way too fast to catch a picture.
We
had lunch at the shade shelter by the parking lot, then went
through Step
House which is a self-guided location. It was another long
(.8 mi) sunny hike
down, and yes, back up but there are two ways to descend to Step House so
we went down and came back using different routes. It's
interesting that at each location we have seen a few new
things. On
the left is a view of Step House as we came down the trail - you can
see that it's another cliff dwelling tucked under an outcrop. On
the right are the original 'steps' that give the house its name.
The little sign says "prehistoric steps - do not use."The picture to the left below suggests that a spring ran through this house. The indentations in the sloping floor were designed to catch water that could be easily scooped out with a ladle. The presence of "indoor plumbing" would make this location very desirable. In the center is the only "new to us" mammal we saw on the trip - a rock squirrel; and on the right are some petroglyphs found in Step House.
We’re glad that we allowed 2 full days to see Mesa Verde because it wore us
out. It wasn't so much the walking (though the paths were all
very steep they weren't long) but the heat at mid-day really wiped us out. So, after Step House,
we went back to Chapin Mesa and went through the (cool) museum. I
am
undecided about whether we should have done that first. There
is a definite connection between what we saw in person and the exhibits
in the museum. The exhibits were more meaningful after having
seen the structures, but perhaps I would have gotten more from the
tours if I had the background first. Maybe the order doesn't
really matter! The museum showed the progression of types of
accommodations (cave, pithouse, cliff dwelling, e.g.) and the
development of the use of tools and agriculture. There
were some
models, based on the existing excavated structures, of what Step House, e.g., would have looked like at the time of
its occupation. At left is a mostly-in-bloom cactus that was right in
front
of the Museum. Then we had another stop at the cafe – John tried out a different beer (90 Shilling) and I had a fudgsicle this time. We got back to camp around 4 PM, just as it started raining. John took a nap and I sat under the canopy trying to remember what we had done for two days and type it into my journal before I forgot everything! The rain stopped after about an hour and John got a fire going for elk brats and buffalo burgers. In the morning we headed off towards Rico.