MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK

We arrived in Mesa Verde yesterday afternoon.  It has been on my "bucket list" long before I knew what a "bucket list" was and it did not disappoint.  You arrive in the park passing a spectacular sculpture at the visitors center and begin a long, slow climb up the mountain from one switchback curve to another.  Our campground is nestled in a canyon, and I've just taken a minute from writing to chat with the lucky man who is the camp host here.

I'm sitting outside the door of Saffire looking at a huge butte where I keep expecting an indian on horseback to appear.  When I walked out this morning I heard a sound that was exactly like a rainbird sprinkler, so much so that I actually looked around to find it in this dry, arid area.  It's grasshoppers!!! They are very busy making a chirping chorous for my morning writing.  

When we check into our campground they told us about the bear that has been roaming the area, chewing up water hoses at night and taking any food he can find.  That meant that after my shower I had to unhook the hose so it wouldn't be a sprinkler!!  They also mentioned cougar in the area and told us about a man who went off hiking last year from this campground and was never seen again.  SCARE TACTICS!!  They did their job on Christine who after hearing all that didn't want to sleep in her tent and who could blame her???!!!  So Teddy and I had company last night, we moved all my storage containers down and she spent the night in the cab over of Saffire.  All worked out well and I'm happy to say she wasn't bear entree last night.

For those who don't know about Mesa Verde, the "Ancients" lived here around 1000AD.  They were the ancestors of the Pueblo people who now live on the reservations in Colorado, Arizona and Utah and New Mexico.  The Hopi, the Navajo, the Acoma and the Ute among others.  The indians built their villages in the face of the mountains and Mesa Verde contains a number of the preserved ruins.  It is absolutely fascinating to stand there and try and picture what life must have been like for the people who once lived there.  

Last night after an early dinner we all headed up the mountain another twenty miles.  Luanne and Diane headed to do the self guided tour at Spruce House and Erlene, Christine, Jeanne and I went to a special twilight program at The Cliff House, the largest of the ruins.  The program was supposed to have been two indians talking about life then, but instead we had a woman who was in the character of Willa Cather, the author who wrote O PIONEERS and MY ANTONIA.
It was quite disappointing but the evening was a success in spite of her.  The light in the canyon was spectacular, our group had less than twenty people and the sunset was a memory that will last forever.  

The hike to arrive at the Cliff House descends through stairs carved out of the rock face in the 1930's by members of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the same people who were responsible for so much of the remarkable construction we enjoy today in our National Parks.  After you navigate the steps and a cravasse there is a ladder to descend.  Coming back up is even more fun, you better not be too fat or you'd be stuck in the ascending cravasse!  It had a very narrow slit, the same rock stairs and three ladders!  

We were quite proud of Erlene who over the last few years has had breast cancer twice, knees replaced and a shattered wrist, she was a bit leary when we headed down but she is our idol!  You rock Erlene!!!

So now it's Friday morning, the campground has a pancake breakfast and we're about to head up to eat, then pack up and be off to Monument Valley for the night.