Monday, April 29-Thursday, May 2

We arrived at Mesa Verde around 4:00pm, set up camp, and drove further into the park to have dinner at the lodge. The food was pretty good, especially so because we were starving. We shared a bottle of wine and talked about highlights from the trip so far. It’s hard to pick a favorite moment because every day feels like a wonderful gift. We’ve met so many interesting and friendly people, seen so many incredible sights, and relished our time together.

We have been to Mesa Verde before, and we came back because it is beautiful, and because we are so fascinated by the ancient dwelling places here. Unfortunately, the tours of these sites don’t start until later in May, so we won’t be able to go inside them. This happened the last time we came-damnit! We should have planned a bit better.

Mesa Verde was established by Teddy Roosevelt and the US Congress in 1906. It is the largest archaeological preserve in the United States and is known for one of the largest cliff dwellings in North America. The inhabitants of these dwellings came from the 4 corners region around AD550 and lived here for 700 years.

The park opened for the season just a few days ago, and the advantage to that is an almost empty campground and not many people on the trails. The campground is very nice, and the facilities are exceptional for a National Park (meaning there is running water in the toilet at the campground, and there are showers and even a laundromat at the visitor center).

Spectacular, right?

We did the Petroglyph Point hike-it’s about 2.5 miles but took 3 hours due to a few challenging rock scrambles and many stops for photographs and exaltation. We met some very nice people on the trail-always a bonus to connect with fellow travelers.

On Wednesday, we hiked the Soda Canyon trail, which is only a mile or so and offers some great views of the dwellings.

We went to the Park’s museum. There is a section dedicated to pieces of pottery and other artifacts that were picked up by tourists over the years and later returned with apology for taking what did not belong to them. These days visitors are instructed to leave any relics they find undisturbed and report their location to a ranger. I appreciate the respect for the culture and history of these people that the Park promotes.

Agriculture, tool making, pottery and art. A remarkable people.

We learned about a brewery in the closest town (population 500?) and decide to check it out. We like to find a comparison to our hometown pub Rollies whenever we can. Excellent beer, outstanding pizza, and local trivia night is what we found. Everyone except us knew each other, and we felt very welcomed. We met someone who grew up in Maine. Andy asked her why she left and she said she didn’t know! If you’re ever in Mancos, Colorado we highly recommend Mancos Brewery.

Even though we didn’t get to climb down to the dwellings, we loved being here and feeling the presence and the power of the people who came before us. Their descendants return to these dwellings to remember and honor their ancestors. They believe that the Spirits from generations past are still with them. It’s a sacred place.

Next up, Canyonlands National Park, Utah!