Cliff Dwellings

























































































 After a short time on the recreation.gov waitlist we landed tickets to the Cliff Palace Tour.  We then found a Boondockers Welcome location in Cortez CO and changed our plans.  It was a short drive over to Cortez, it was beautiful through Moab, etc.   It’s been 10ish years since we’ve been through the area.  On arrival in Cortez we had lunch at La Casita based on the recommendation of our friends Steve and Shannon. Excellent carne asada fajitas and margs, definitely worth a stop.   


After lunch was a quick Walmart stop and then on to our host location.  We got set up in the apple orchard and went back out to explore.  As we rolled through town, we noticed it is cute with lots of murals.  It also has lots of tagging with some gang tags.  An afternoon Colorado thunderstorm with heavy winds popped up so we headed back to the kids.  We also scored some allocated bourbon when we were out.  


Wednesday we headed into Mesa Verde NP early and did our tour.  The Cliff dwellings are in the south end of the park, about 20 miles in.  The drive up to the top of the mesa is pretty with several old burn scars.  At that elevation, you can tell it gets hit by lighting frequently.  We made our way to the tour location and waited for our group.  From the start point, you have a Birds Eye view of most of Cliff Palace.  I remember seeing pictures of this place as a child and always being in awe of it.  


A short time later we were on our way down to the dwellings.  It’s a narrow and steep approach, but there were people of all ages on the tour.  Once down at the level of the dwellings, our guide told us about everything “they know” about the location and the Pueblo people who inhabited it.  It was a great 45 minute tour where we were able to walk among the dwellings and Kivas.  If you want to see the exact tour and learn more about Cliff Palace, check out Newstate Nomads on YouTube and type in Cliff Palace.  Leaving the tour requires a bit of climbing and narrow rock passages.  There are also 3 or 4, 10’ wooden ladders to climb.  Turns out they are sturdier than aluminum.  


After our tour, we drove the Mesa Top road, checking out other cliff dwellings and ruins.  It’s worth the stop to get out and look at things.  Square tower house is awesome!  We left the park and went back to Cortez to get the dogs just as it started to storm.  We then drove back up to Mancos Brewing Company and had some beers and pizza with a full time couple we met over three years ago.  We just happened to be at Camping World in Ishpeming, MI and chatted with them about KYD.  We’ve been following each other on Insta since then.  It was great catching up and we hope to see them in AZ this winter.  


Back down the hill at the rig, we fed the dogs and watched some movies.  Overall it was a great day.

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