It was a bit of a shock this morning when we woke up to find one of the water bottles we brought into the cabin was almost frozen solid. On the plus side, our new sleeping bags have now been tested (successfully) to withstand temperatures below freezing!
My next door neighbor is enjoying his breakfast.
Not being able to see any of Mesa Verde yesterday has put us a bit behind schedule, so instead of going for breakfast we each have a Cliff Bar, little hypernutritious bars meant for backpackers.
It’s a mostly clear sky this morning, but the drive up the mountain is slow going due to the sharp curves and occasional lack of guardrails and we end up just missing the 9am tour. As it turns out, it’s about a 15-20minute drive to the trailhead anyway so by the time we get there we’ll only have half an hour to kill.
We run into a herd of absolutely gorgeous wild horses. Oh, how I’d love to take a couple of them home with me! The gray mare is not afraid to show them who's boss.
There’s a viewpoint right next to the parking lot, but it’s blisteringly cold outside and we just can’t bring ourselves to get out of the car and walk around, despite our layers upon layers of clothing. You just know you’re in trouble when the locals are walking around in their winter coats with hats and gloves …
Ranger Craig is our guide today and boy is he excited! They close Cliff Palace and most of the other cliff dwellings during the winter months and today is the first day they’re conducting tours again.
We walk down a steep section of uneven steps carved out of rocks to get to the dwellings, followed by another ladder. Sandy had been a little concerned about going down, because they play it up to be this strenuous hike, but even she has to concede that it’s really a piece of cake.
I position myself to be near the front of the group so I can take pictures without any people in it. It really is a magical place and you can tell by his stories that ranger Craig has profound respect for the people that once lived here.
A lot is unknown about the people who once lived there and why they left. It is believed that they lived in the area for more than 700 years, starting around 600AD. Initial dwellings, of which some have been unearthed in the park, were pithouses; homes build partially in the ground. Over the years their skills evolved and they began building above ground houses out of stone. Towards the end of their stay in Mesa Verde the Puebloans moved into the alcoves in the cliffs. What prompted this move is unknown, as if the reason for their eventually leaving the area altogether. One theory holds that a 20+ year period of drought forced the mostly agricultural society to find more fertile soil, after their reserves had been exhausted.
View from the other side, the circular openings in the foreground are Kiva’s, or ceremonial rooms. In Indian lore men represent the sky, and women the earth. To pray for rain the men would sit inside the Kiva and smoke so that the smoke could rise into the sky to form clouds.
It’s amazing how straight they built their walls, especially considering that they did not use any metal. All of the stones were shaped by striking them with a hammer like object consisting of a sharp stone bound to two strong sticks.
This is the view looking up through the window inside the 3-tiered tower in the previous picture. Notice the very basic pictograms about midway on the walls.
After the tour is completed we decide to drive the Mesa Top Loop, a scenic drive that shows what’s left of some of the earlier dwellings, as well as view of other cliff dwellings. The little herd of horses has now moved to this part of the park and I can’t resist taking some more pictures.
Notice the burnt forest in the background? Several years ago, lightening struck the mountain and burnt a large wooded area. It might sound very sad for part of protected forest to go up in flame, but it’s actually an excellent way for the area to rid themselves of years of accumulated dead trees and put nutrients in the soil. In fact, we’ve driven through part of other parks where they’ve purposely set controlled fires to achieve the same goal.
Canyon overlook:
One of the other cliff dwelling seen from across the canyon. It's unbelievable how high up, and seemingly unaccesible these places are.
The view on the way down the mountain is a little worrisome and sure enough it starts to snow again as we’re driving back.
Yet another crazy caution sign: watch out for elk.
We drive to old town Mancos to have lunch at a really cool little place called the Absolute Bakery, but find a sign on the door saying “We’ve enjoyed having time off in March, so now we’re taking some more days off” Oo-kay then.
As luck would have it there’s a Sonic nearby. Better yet, the empty lot next to them is overrun with prairie dogs.
After we leave Colorado behind the weather improves drastically.
Our first stop, the incredibly corny tourist trap known as Four Corners Monument; the only place where four states meet in one place. There’s nothing to see but a few plaques and Navajo salesmen pushing their wares, so after we get the obligatory picture of me in Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico we get back on the road.
Suddenly we spot yet another animal walking across the road; this time a big wooly sheep. She quickly joins her flock across the road, then the big horned ram gets tired of me taking pictures of his family and directs them all to flee the scene. Hillarious!
Driving up to Monument Valley I am filled with a sense of anticipation. Many people have told me how seeing those big red monoliths for the first time evoked the ultimate wild west feeling in them, but when we finally get there I’m just not feeling it. Maybe it’s because I’m nursing a cold, or maybe we’ve reached red rock satiety, I don’t know … but it looks just like any other nice stretch of scenery to me.
First I get a couple of nice shots of the aptly named East and West Mittens from the parking.
We start out on the 17mile dirt road that drives along the formations, but the sun is starting to go down and at the rate we’re going we’d have to navigate half of the pothole and washout ridden road in the dark so we make a quick turnabout.
Me and my big, red nose.
There's a pack of stray dogs running around the parking lot. Poor babies!
There’s a nice sunset on the other end of the parking lot.
Our cabin tonight at Goulding’s campground is really, really nice. We have our own bathroom and kitchen even!
Dinner at the Goulding’s Lodge is sadly a forgettable affair. Two Dutch guys are sitting at the table next to ours ... it's funny how we've run into people from Holland at least once every day.
When we return to the cabin the night sky is absolutely amazing! Without the light pollution we’ve grown so accustomed to it looks like a high-def picture from a telescope … I even get to see two falling stars in the short time we’re outside.
I would have loved to stay outside and watch the stars, while listening to the horses in the field, but this cold has really wiped me out so I just get all comfy cozy and watch a little Discovery Channel before going to sleep.
Total mileage for today: 184
Hotel: Goulding’s RV Park
Lunch: Sonic
Dinner: Goulding’s Restaurant
Hotel: Goulding’s RV Park
Lunch: Sonic
Dinner: Goulding’s Restaurant
Hello, I couldn't post my last comment so this is a test to see if it works now,
Love
Joeve
Oke, It is working again.
Day nine:
It must have been really cold last night, water bottles don't freeze solid that easy.
The wild horses remind me of the Camarque in the south of France, hole herds running free, maybe something for you to visit.
I think Cliff Palace is amazing. The Indians of Mesa Verde must have had a highly developed culture. The architecture and the hole lay-out of the town is beautiful.
Because there are no people in the picture, it looks like a Marklin scale model. Like the railroad stations our neighbour in The Hague build
I wonder why they took refuge under the rock, protection from sun and wind or maybe against wild animals?
The idee of a Kiva apeels to me. Maybe Rob and I should build ourselves our own little Kiva in the garden. Can you imagion us there sitting and smoking? Unless it starts raining every time we light a sigaret, haha.
You never now if the old magic is still working.
I like the cute little prairie dog sitting in his hole in the groud.
What a nice picture of the East and West Mittens, the eerie light makes it look like a picture of the American artist Edward Hopper, fantastic!
Love and xxx, waiting in anticipation for the next day,
Joeve