Day 7 - Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, CO

Ok……time for a Cdog blog. We started the day with a quick breakfast and then packed plenty of the day’s most essential element – water. We were expecting a very hot day and Gatorade or fruit water is prohibited on any park trail. Sugar attracts rodents – like ants in the East – and would threaten the historic ruins which date back 1,500 years.

After a short drive, we entered the Mesa Verde National Park and began a 15 mile uphill ascent. The road went in circles like I have never seen before but the rock formations were breathtaking. Nobody got car sick so that was a good sign for a memorable day ahead. We stopped at the visitor center and signed up for two tours guided by US rangers. The park is huge (over 52,000 acres) and likely as big as Westchester County where we live. There were designated campsites, an opportunity to outback, (whatever that is?) and one lodge to stay overnight. The park has both gorges and cliffs but was ravaged by fire in 2002, destroying what were once the reservoirs which are dry in modern day. The ranger said it would take over 300 years for the trees to grow back because of the dry climate. If the economy has got you down and you are on a budget, this is the place to come as the full day’s activities only cost $45 for our family of five.

Our first tour was 75 minutes long and is considered the most strenuous hike. We began to explore the old balcony house by ascending down 400 feet into the canyon. The walk included uneven steps and tight passage ways with no railings. I kept my eye on Erin who liked to skip along the edge to give Mom a heart palpitation or two. When we arrived at the balcony house the ranger taught us about how 2,000 Pueblo Indians survived very hot summers followed by cold, long winters. We learned that men worked the area to till crops while women worked up to 5 hours daily grinding corn with rocks to make corn meal and then bread to provide for their families. Women didn’t live very long – usually 20 to 25 years – as child birth was the biggest cause of death. Most female Pueblos gave birth at age 12 or 13. And I thought raising middle school girls was concerning. To leave we climbed a 35 foot straight up ladder, two other smaller ladders and hiked upward until we had to crawl thru a very narrow and 2 foot high rock formation. The ranger told us a big man, Helmesie like, got stuck only 3 weeks ago. Fact of the Day – The human body when stuck naturally expands much like a blow fish. Since the man was no longer there I suppose he is now part of Mesa Verde legend?

Our next tour was to explore the most famous ruin called the Cliff Palace which was the largest village. It included 125 some odd “rooms”, storage and round ditches called Kivas used for ceremonial rituals. Our guide, Peter, began the tour with a speech as we listened to Halloween type thunder followed shortly by a hard rain. The rain was cold and Peter was the only one prepared as he whipped out his ranger jacket and covered hat with a brim. The Walshes persevered and did not throw in the towel, like some, as we huddled together to keep warm. Before the trip, we talked with the kids about the climate change we would experience on the trip – 100+ degrees in the Grand Canyon and likely 50 degrees in Canada. However, we didn’t expect to experience this type of change in 10 minutes listening to our guide. Once we arrived at the Cliff Palace, we had some intervention from above and the rain stopped. It was a now a bad hair day for Debbi. We were not allowed to touch any rocks as the oils from our hands could harm the ruins. The architecture of the village was precise and equally impressive. It is incredible to think that their work has lasted as long as it has. They say at Mesa Verde, much like Lambert Ridge, there are no facts only stories. Nobody really knows……

We left the park at 5:30 PM and headed back to Cortez for a quick dinner and much needed rest. This was our first of 3 national parks we will visit and hope the other two can live up to Mesa Verde.

Cdog