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Day 52 - Mesa Verde

The Anasazi first settled on the mesa tops of Mesa Verde in 500 AD, then moved into the cliff dwellings this park is famous for in 1100 AD, then mysteriously abandoned the area entirely in 1300 AD. Like the other tourists, I was interested in seeing the cliff dwellings!  Unfortunately many sites are closed in Colorado until Memorial Day, so I wasn't able to go into the two largest dwellings, Cliff Palace or Long House, settling instead for Balcony House. 

Balcony House is a small cliff dwelling built in a defensive posture on an inaccessible cliff. You have to climb a 30 foot ladder to enter the dwelling and then you have to crawl through a 3 foot wide hole and up more ladders to exit. Adventure and history are a nice combo. The ranger taught us about building techniques, spiritual structures and customs, and theories about the Anasazi culture and disappearance (draught or war). Pics. 



After the guided tour of Balcony House, I did self-guided tours of a historical museum, Spruce Tree House, and the Mesa Top Loop, with views of Cliff Palace. The most common ruin visible was a circular pit going eight feet below the floor, exposed without a roof as ruins but originally with log roofs and a single ladder going down. A fire would be started in the middle and I imagine rituals, prayers and dances would take place. 



I concluded my Mesa Verde visit with a short hike to the Park Point Overlook, a high 8500 foot peak with incredible views of the surrounding valley and the white-capped San Juan Mountains to the north. I then got in my van and drove north, up a scenic mountain road to the San Juans, to Lizard Head Pass at 10500 feet. Stunned by the serenity of the mountains, but needing to sleep, I drove back a bit to a lower elevation to the entrance of a closed-for-the-season campground and camped along the side road. 






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