Mesa Verde NP
Mesa Verde National Park- It is not only a national park but its also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It became a NP in 1906 when President Theodore Roosevelt signed it into place. It has a total area of 52,485 acres, contains 5,000 sites and 600 cliff dwellings, and is the largest archaeological preserve in the United States.
Cliff Palace- A large group of Pueblo Indians left their group in New Mexico and moved to Colorado. They climbed 8000 feet and built a new city in the side of a mountain. They stayed for more than 700 years from 550-1300 AD. Although many other smaller and even single independent structures were built this was their crowing achievement. I think I would have built mine separate from the main group tucked away and secluded but close enough to go party with the others.
Good to know- When competing tribes discovered them here they killed and ate them, at least that’s what historical experts believe. We will all disappear from earth but I’d like to think it wasn’t because my neighbors and I had a disagreement and I was “what’s for dinner”.
November is a perfect time to visit Southern Colorado. With the vegetation has gone for a long winters nap it gives you a better understanding of what it would be like to live here and what these people had to go thru.
You can see of into the horizon as far as your eyes will allow, for me that is not too far but enough to take the majesty this place is offering up.
Sunset- As the day drew to a close, the sky began to paint itself red as the night creeped in. I’m not sure when my fascination with the “changing of the guard” began but I always take time to soak this in. I love the changeover and the night shift and come to think of it, I rarely look up in the day time unless a whether related issue calls me to. But something about the sun going home after a shift or getting into work always garners my attention. Why not, look at it.
