Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

Having just recently returned from a trip to the Southwest, I was very pleased to review my photos and remember with fondness all that happened on the trip. On my way to Mesa Verde I camped at Navaho National Monument, situated within the Navaho Nation.  A pleasant surprise, with lots of hikes and ruins to observe. 

After reaching Cortez, Colorado, I met up with my friend Cindy to camp and visit the area. After setting up camp we rested as we had an early start the next morning. The following day, we drove to Durango, Colorado, and took the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad for a journey through some awesome scenery up to the old mining town of Silverton. 

The train is an old fashioned steam engine train that has been in continuous operation since 1882! It was originally constructed to haul silver and gold ore from the San Juan Mountains.

That would be my friend Cindy and me riding the rails on the old steam train.

This plant resembles a giant dandelion, but is actually called Western Salsify. Even though it is edible it is very bitter. I'd rather have chocolate.

View from the train along the Animas River, one of the last free flowing rivers in the entire western United States! That night we pulled into our campground so tired from the long day. Our tour in the morning started at 8:30 am, so before crashing in bed, we hastily made our preparations for the following day of hiking in Mesa Verde National Park, 

The first ruins we visited, Long House, required you to visit with an NPS Ranger. I would suggest making a reservation on recreation.gov if  you plan on visiting Mesa Verde. With tickets in hand, we met up with the others and sadly watched some turned away because the quota was filled. Long House is located on the Weatherhill Mesa, and has 150 rooms, 21 kivas and a row of upper storage rooms. Amazing place. Highly recommend going there. The ruins were excavated and stabilized between 1958 and 1963, which enables people like me to go and see them!

From the ruins, the Ancestral Pueblo people had a tremendous view of the valley below.

The Ancestral Puebloan people built their villages under overhanging cliffs. They basically used sandsotone shaped into rectangular blocks,  and for mortar they used a mix of dirt and water. 

After we left LongHouse, we walked down to the Nordenskiold Site #16 ruins. By then we were pretty tired, and headed back to camp to prepare for the following day.

Beautiful cactus flowers, which after they transform into fruit, can also be eaten.

The following day we drove over to Square Tower House, and took a fabulous hike with 2 rangersI The whole hike was challenging, but coming down that steep ladder and then grabbing onto another ladder to finish the traverse, was extremely challenging.  That is Cindy taking her time coming down the ladder. It scared me to watch her, so I immediately turned my head until she reached solid ground. 

Everyone made it safely down and back up the ladders......no hikers were injured on the treacherous climb to the Square Tower.  😎

That would be me, gazing at the ruins, and probably dying of hunger pains.  Seriously I did not get enough to eat on that whole trip. Poor baby girl.

Looking through any window always intrigues me, especially this one. What was it like for these people to live in these impossible places? I don't know how they did it, I just know I couldn't do it. I encourage you all to keep your eyes out for my future blog posts of Capitol Reef, Bryce, Arches, Zion, Natural Bridges and no, I did not go to Canyonlands! Been there once and that was enough for me. Blessings to all of you and stay safe!