Cross-Country Vacation
Day 6: Mesa Verde
Friday, September 8, 2006
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When we were initially figuring out our rough itinerary we we not quite sure what to do between Utah and the Grand Tetons/Yellowstone. We could go north from Arches and check out Dinosaur National Monument and Flaming Gorge. We could go east to Denver and Rocky Mountain National Park. Directly to the south was the Four Corners area and many Native American sites such as Hovenweep National Monument.
All of them seemed rather spread out and would involve more hiking. I thought it would be a good idea to find something a little more concentrated and close together with some things to do indoors for a change to take it easy on everyone. So we ended up selecting Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado.
I had also recalled our Uncle Ned talking about taking a trip along the famed Million Dollar Highway, Colorado's US-550, and how picturesque it was, and that would be on the way from Mesa Verde to Wyoming.
The day was cool and drizzling, with scattered showers all morning, so it was a good day to be under a little cover...
...but navigating the ruins was anything but easy. There were several very strenuous stair and ladder climbs involved, and one place where you had to crawl through a narrow tunnel. Prior to staring the tour of Balcony House our guide warned us that it would be physically challenging and not recommend for people with heart conditions. He was very entertaining and after Mary admitted to having a heart attack a few years back he teased her quite a bit.
Our guide claimed that he had 4 kills. It made me wonder if they painted little figured on the sides of their trucks for each one. Would one more make him an ace?
We all survived Balcony House, although I did leave a good chunk of skin off of my right knee on the rock floor of the tunnel that we crawled through.
Then I hiked down to the Spruce Tree House. Mesa Verde sits on a plateau of about 7000 foot elevation. The natives planted crops on the plateau above and built these dwellings on the cliffs below. Sometime in the 1200's a severe drought lasting several years took its toll on the crops and the site was abandoned.
The westernmost part of the park (Wetherill Mesa) closes after Labor Day, so only the eastern part (Chapin Mesa) was open. But that part includes the Cliff Palace, which is probably the most photographed and recognizable of all Native American cliff dwellings.
We lucked out on our tour because we fell in with this tour bus group. They had arranged to have a professor from I believe the University of New Mexico guide their tour of the Cliff Palace. He was is one of the foremost historians on the area and the various cultures and he gave a very informative lecture. He even went overtime as it started to rain while we were down there and he waited for the rain to let up before leading us back up the slippery rock stairs and ladders.
We left Mesa Verde in the mid-afternoon and drove east to Durango. It is the home of the famed narrow-gauge railroad. Unfortunately the train is an all-day excursion and we did not have a day to spare. So we just turned north on US-550 and drove up and over several mountain passes and down into many lovely valleys including passing through the very picturesque towns of Silverton and Ouray.
I was hoping to have time to check out Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, which is just east of where US-550 meets US-50 in Montrose, CO, but it was way too late by the time we got there. We probably should have spent the night in Montrose, but we had a long driving day ahead of us to get to the Grand Tetons tomorrow, so we pressed on for another hour to Grand Junction.
Little did we imagine, though, that there would be a big high school football game going on that Friday night in Grand Junction, and we had trouble finding a hotel room. But we have stayed in cheap, dive places before so we know how to lower our standards, and we finally found a place to spend the night.
Mesa Verde National Park: Website, Map
Day 6 Summary:
Start: Cortez, CO
End: Grand Junction, CO
By way of: Durango and Silverton, CO
Route: US-160, US-550, US-50
Approximate Driving Distance:
This Day: 240 miles
Total: 1535 miles
Next: Day 7: Cattle Country