We decided
to take 3 ranger led tours in the park. First, we went to Long House, then to
Cliff Place, and then to Balcony House. Very similar but different none the
less. The ancient Pueblo Indians lived in the area from 1150 to 1300. They
originally lived on top of the mesa, but for some reason decided to build
houses (if that is the right word) under the overhangs of these huge overhangs
in the cliffs. There were numerous
dwellings in the park, but some were highlighted by the NP service. They were incredible architects and engineers
and given the environment their work lives on to this day. They dwellings don't get wet much from rain
and the average humidity is around 6%, which explains the great condition of everything. We also went to a 4th dwelling, which we did
on our own. Fascinating story. The best part of the story is that around
1300 they all left the region. It is not
known why. It could have been
environmental or something else. They
really don't know. Great place to
visit. Highly recommended! The weather was warm (~upper 80's). We all drank a lot of water.
The night
before, another Cardinal trailer pulled in a few sites down from us. They were from Louisiana, and I told them
about the Cardinal RV Club, which has been a great resource for me.
Below is a
picture of one of cliff sites. I believe this is Cliff Place. I forgot one thing, the ranger who led our
first tour, was so incredibly good. He grew up not far from the park and his
knowledge far surpassed the other rangers.
Really funny guy too.
At Mesa Verde, a couple of years ago, some girlfriends and I rode horseback to see some ruins that had been closed to the public for many years. What a great experience for your boys to see this!
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