Anniversary Trip - Part 1

Wednesday last week Nate and I took off for an anniversary trip to see Mesa Verde. My parents generously agreed to watch Austin and Zipper while we were away.

We spent all of Thursday seeing everything we could in the park. After buying some tour tickets, we first headed out to see Cliff Palace.

Next we headed to the Balcony House for another tour. This ruin took more maneuvering to get to and to get out of. For example, we had to climb a 30 foot ladder up to it at one point, and we had to get down on our hands and knees to crawl through openings at other points.

We then hiked a short trail overlooking the Balcony House. Below is a video taken from the lookout that from which you can also see some of the ladders where we entered and left the Balcony House.

After that we headed back up to the Spruce Tree House. There we were able to climb down inside a Kiva. These are the circular rooms you can see in the pictures above. Originally, these rooms had roofs and were accessed by a ladder, but the vast majority of the roofs are missing now.

Inside of a Kiva

Next we hiked along the Petroglyph Point Trail, which turned out to be a really fun hike. It weaved through rock crevices, up and down narrow stairways, and past a number of interesting rock formations, some cliff house ruins, and other objects of interest before reaching the petroglyphs themselves.

Finally, we finished off the day by driving around the other loop on the Chaplin Mesa. We stopped at various points to view pithouses, stunning views, overlooks of some cliff dwellings, and the Sun Temple.

Square Tower House: tallest standing ruin in the park.

View of Cliff Palace from view point

Sun Temple: it is unclear what this unfinished structure was being built for.

I am simply fascinated by these ruins. So little is known about them, and the mystery surrounding them perhaps draws me to them all the more. Or perhaps it is because in some ways these dwellings remind me of the sort of place I was always seeking out as a child: unique tree houses, tents, caves, hideouts, and other private getaways. What could be more cool than houses built in the sides of cliffs? Especially when you are enjoying such places with your best friend?