Park #8 of 9: This was my last Colorado National Park, since I had already visited Rocky Mountain and Great Sand Dunes. CO is one of my favorite states so I am sure every one of those parks will be visited again. I camped inside this park, so I stopped by the visitor center before driving in
I could quickly see where the park got its name – although someone told me that the top is supposed to be completely flat – and these are actually called something different. But the name wasn’t as catchy as Mesa Verde.
So I got to see Cliff Palace and a few other ruins from afar but they were only running limited tours so I wasn’t able to go in and see it.
The Ancient Puebloans certainly had some amazing structures they made in the sides of these cliffs. They apparently used to live on the top of the mesas but eventually moved to the sides of the cliffs, likely for the protection it provided.
The tour that I did do had me a little nervous I must admit. To get in you climb down the face of the cliff then back up a 32 foot ladder. And that’s not even the craziest part! To get back out you have to climb through a 12 foot tunnel that is only 18” wide, then back up a 60 ft open rock face with more ladders. They call this their “adventurous cliff dwelling tour”.
I can definitely see how that would be deter in-wanted visitors! After this tour I headed back to my campsite, but stopped on the side of the road to watch a pretty spectacular sunset.
Not only was this park a good history lesson – it also had a pretty amazing setting. I can see why they wouldn’t mind living here. There were big parts of the park that had been ravaged by bad fires. It was sobering to see signs about fires as many as 10-15 years ago where the plant life still hadn’t rebounded.
Great park! I may visit again when the Cliff Palace tours are open again. Would be cool to wander the larger ruins without the anxiety of squeezing out a tunnel to get back!
Kelsey's Climb to 59 (+4) 