We
are off to visit a few of the ruins of the prepuebloans who lived in the area
around Cortez, Colorado. On the way we drove through a good deal of the Navajo
Reservation, stopping several times along the way for photographs of isolated
formations, and a thunderstorm east of Kayenta.
We
spent two days in Mesa Verde National Park visiting ruins, hiking, and seeing
petroglyphs. The evening we got to the Park, we signed up for a tour of Long
House with a Ranger, and went to the Montezuma Valley Overlook to get a feel of
the area.
Our
first full day was filled with several adventures on Chapin Mesa. We took the hike to Petroglyph Point which was about
2.5 miles along the edge of a canyon and at times a bit trying with a rocky
trail climbing and descending along the way. It was worth it as we had some
great views and a nice panel of figures to see. Along the way we met a Ranger
who pointed out a ruin across the canyon from us which I believe she had just
found.
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| Mesa Verde Approach |
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| Chapin Mesa Museum |
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| A Distant Cliff House |
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| Petroglyphs |
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| Rocky Ascent |
Back
at Spruce Tree Terrace we enjoyed a light lunch before heading for the self
guided tour of the Spruce Tree House Ruins. As we started down the trail it
began to rain. We soon stopped and put on our light ponchos, and soon were glad
that we did. The rain came down quite hard for a time, and actually flooded the
trail for short time. While standing among the ruins we were dry, but there
were waterfalls occurring over the lip of the canyon.
The rain came down quite hard for a time, and actually flooded the
trail for short time. While standing among the ruins we were dry, but there
were waterfalls occurring over the lip of the canyon.
Our departure was delayed by the flooding of the trail but it subsided after about 20 minutes and we were able to get out of the canyon and up to our car.
It
continued to rain the rest of the afternoon, so we headed back to Cortez.
Long House was my favorite tour to give and I loved hanging out in Spruce Tree House. Was always an extra pleasure to see the water pour off the rim and imagine clay pots under collecting. Petroglyph trail is a bit of a challenge.
ReplyDeleteYour correct about the challenge of the Petroglyph Trail. We enjoyed it but were glad to ascend out of the canyon and walk along the rim back to the starting point. The first picture of Spruce Tree House ruins was taken along that path.
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