CW: Mesa Verde

On Sept. 26th, 2015, Joan and I began a southwestern trip, back-to-back one-week excursions with Country Walkers that would take us to spectacular locations in Colorado and Utah.

Today we are to fly to Durango, Colorado, via Dallas on American Airlines. But first, the gate agents told us there's no meal service because the plane wasn't stocked in Dallas. (Even though it has been sitting overnight in Columbus.) They gave us vouchers, which Joan and I planned to use in Dallas, and we boarded the plane. Then the pilot switched on the intercom. There was an issue.

The log documenting the overnight maintenance on the airplane hadn't been signed by the supervisor. We can't fly until it is signed. It's a Saturday, so the person who can sign it is not on site, but on call. He'll get here no sooner than an hour and half, likely two. Joan and I looked at each other. This is the second time we've been delayed recently by unsigned maintenance logs at Columbus. Everybody got off the plane, and Joan and I used our vouchers to grab and consume sandwiches as we waited.

Fortunately the gate agent was able to reserve us seats on a later flight from Dallas to Durango, the last such flight of the day. We had enough time in Dallas to amuse ourselves by riding the elevated train around the airport. On arriving in Durango, the small airport there was almost deserted. We shared our ride on the hotel shuttle (about a twenty minute ride) with the aircraft crew.

The next morning we met our enthusiastic guides, Tim Smith and Clint Fries, and our fellow travelers in the hotel lobby. After piling our luggage into two vans we headed out for Mesa Verde National Park; the first stop is the visitor's center. Outside there is a tall sculpture.

It illustrates how the ancient Puebloans used carved foot- and hand-holds to climb up or down to their cliff dwellings.

After driving to the top of the mesa, however, our first stop was not a cliff dwelling. It's the Far View Community, a collection of up to 50 villages that predates the cliff dwellings by at least 200 years.

Here Tim Smith is explaining the features of this site.

At this spot we could peek into the remains of a kiva. Kivas were used primarily for ceremonial purposes.

Another section of a village.

We then dashed to the Balcony House site, where a ranger-led tour began on the hour. The ranger warned us that the tour would include ladders, tunnels, and heights, so visitors must be able and willing to negotiate these to participate. Nobody from our Country Walkers group elected to stay behind.

This is a view from the top of the mesa at Balcony House.

After descending some stairs the ranger closed the gate behind us, and it wasn't long before we encountered the first ladder.

Up we go!

The Balcony House was already in shade when we reach it a few minutes later. It's situated to receive the warming rays of the morning sun, but to be in shade as the day grows hot.

Our ranger gave a talk here.

A long view down the balcony.

We gathered at the far end for an explanation of the kiva and its design.

A look into the interior of the kiva.

The central pit would hold the fire; the small block diverts fresh air emerging from the duct around the flame. In its day the kiva would have been covered with wooden poles.

We continued on. There's a crevice leading to the tunnel.

The tunnel is small enough that Joan and I removed our daypacks and pushed them in front of us.

After negotiating the tunnel there was one more (metal) ladder to climb to regain the top. The ancestral Puebloans would have used only foot- and hand-holds as illustrated at the visitor's center.

Next we took a quick swing by the Cliff House. This settlement is the iconic cliff-dwelling site, photographed endlessly. Today and the next few days, however, it's closed for some repair work! Our group walked down to an observation point, and we took snapshots.

Impressive, isn't it? It might even look familiar. Here I zoomed in a bit.

By now it's time for lunch, for sure. Back into our vans ...

... and on to a picnic ground, where our guides spread out the treasure that has been hidden in their coolers.

Supervised by guests, bluebirds,

and the two pigs Joan and I brought along, Zorba and Paco.

We all sat in the shade because the weather was dry and hot, even though Mesa Verde lies between 7000 and 8500 feet and this was the last tour of the season. Tim told us that sometimes the final tour encounters snow atop the mesa!

After lunch we drove on to Spruce Tree House. And we were very lucky, because shortly after we visited (Sept. 27th) the site was closed due to rock falls from above. A short, paved walk led us down, and we arrived at the dwellings.

A wider view.

One kiva is open for visitors. Joan goes in.

My photo of the interior. The ladder rungs are well-worn and polished.

From the Spruce Tree House our group embarked on the Petroglyph Point Trail, a 2.4 mile loop. About hour in, we came across some cliff structures, not open to the public.

Here's a view from the trail taken after another 20 minutes of walking.

We reached the petroglyphs, and in this picture Tim prepares to give us a talk on the possible meanings of these stone recordings. Perhaps they are a history of the migrations of the ancestral Puebloans. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

A closer peek.

Shortly afterward the trail bent upwards and we regained the top of the mesa for a gentle stroll back to the Spruce Tree House. An unconcerned collared lizard gave us quite a show. Look at that tail!

And again.

The lowering sun was lighting up the adobe when we returned.

What a day it's been so far! Our next stop was the Far View Lodge, also located atop the mesa, to unpack and have dinner. Close by the room that Joan and I received were two electric car chargers, a Clipper Creek and a Tesla destination charger (not a supercharger).

A tour group using a large bus was also staying here tonight, and the dinner service at the lodge was spotty -- one table waited two hours for dinner -- but the location was perfect. And tonight was the night of a total lunar eclipse. By dint of shooting dozens of photos with my point-and-shoot camera, bracing it against the railing of our room's balcony, I ended up with one passable image.

The nighttime sound track was the bugling of elk, a call I had never heard before. The males were trying to find mates, but, we were told, the females don't climb the mesa, so the vocal efforts were futile.

What a busy day this was! Joan and I were to discover that this would be the pace for the next two weeks -- Country Walkers wants you to see as much as possible in a one-week trip (weekend to weekend).