Indian Country - Mesa Verde CO

It's just a few hours drive north from Aztec to cross over the border into Colorado. Although I've lived in Colorado it's taken this trip to fully realize why the Spanish explorers called this area "colored rocks."

Add another state to our RV travels

The Animus River runs long the highway

After breezing through Durango, we soon come to the entrance of Mesa Verde National Park, which is no doubt the most visited of any of the ancient pueblo sites in the southwest. People first occupied this region at least 1400 years ago. At first they lived in pit houses up on the mesas growing corn, squash and beans. Then over the years they moved down into more sophisticated dwellings nestled in the cliffs. The in the late 1200's AD they slowly abandoned these homes... only a few generations after the fall of Chaco Canyon. It's thought that the Mesa Verde Anasazi were able to survive the great drought and accompanying cultural chaos better than other pueblos due to their more favorable rainfall and more defensible dwellings. Still they eventually left as well.

Yes, snow capped mountains this has got to Colorado

Entrance to Mesa Verde National Park

Since it's May, the park isn't too crowded yet (even though there are more than we've seen elsewhere). We stop at the Visitors' Center to scope out the park and sign up for two ranger led tours the next day. At $5 each per person, they are a good deal.

Sculpture at entrance to Visitors' Center

Peter stops for a photo before we go in

Nice statue of an ancient maiden potter

Only about half of the campground is open. We don't have any trouble finding a site we like, but we are amused at watching some of the larger rigs circle around trying to find a spot that will accommodate them. We get a giggle out of one family who seems to have brought their whole household with them including a large motor home towing an SUV covered in bicycles. Later walking around the campground, I notice they finally found a spot. They apparently also brought the family cat, who coolly regards me snapping photos of him in his lofty perch. 

Our campsite at Mesa Verde

Family cat in window of large RV

The view from our campsite

The next morning we saddle up and drive the last few miles up into the park to see the ruins.

The Road to Ruin(s)

Hey Peter look - a school bus of Hopi kids are here

After parking the van, we meet up with our Cliff Palace Tour. With all the people milling around it appears to be one of the more popular tours. With over 150 rooms, Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in the park.

Cliff Palace

Canyon in front of Cliff Palace

After meeting our tour guide, PT (which he jokes stands for Part Time), we head down the steep stairs and back up a narrow ladder (my most un-favorite part of seeing ruins) before catching a good view of the ruins.

Down steep stairs between large boulders

I can do it... it's only a short ladder

The tour group before us circles around the main Kiva

Finally we it's our turn to walk through the ruins. The stone work and setting are truly amazing. PT points out the parts of the ruins were we see blacken cave ceilings are where people lived. Other parts were used either for ceremonial or storage purposes.
The Hopi kids are on the same tour and we get a big kick out of watching their reactions to this ancient pueblo built by their ancestors.

PT quizzes the kids on the parts of a Kiva

Short deflector wall helps ventilation and the fire going

The small Sipau hole is the symbolic passage from the lower world from whence their ancestors came

All in all the Hopi students are a very well behaved group. Just as we were leaving, they started singing a lovely haunting song dedicated to this place and their ancestors. We could not have planned a more fitting end to this tour.

Hopi students snapping photos of themselves in the ruins

Original interior white plaster with reddish artwork on the walls

Hopi students singing to Cliff Palace and their ancestors

 After driving to the other side of the canyon, we get a final look at Cliff Palace.

Cliff Palace - Mesa Verde

Our next tour is of Balcony House, which at 40 rooms is smaller and also more challenging to tour. Before we leave the parking lot, our Ranger guide again warns us about the many ladders and narrow passages we need to negotiate to get both in and out of the ruins.  I figured I handled Cliff Palace just fine so this one should be a piece of cake.

Ranger led orientation

Down a steep narrow trail

Now that's a major ladder - gulp!

Peter takes the camera as he wants to document my climbing this long ladder. I force myself to look at only the next rung and to be careful of my footing. Whew - am I glad to make it to the top. Nooo... I'm not afraid of heights - not one bit.

Haaaah - made it!

Now I can watch the rest of the group

We assemble at the top of the ladder

This cliff dwelling is particularly well defended against unwanted invaders. With continuing drought conditions causing shortages of basic necessities of food and water, the last surviving dwellings of the Anasazi are defensive structures. Long ladders can quickly be drawn up to prevent entry from below.

Cliff House

Our Ranger demos how corn is ground with a metate/mano

Outline of rooms with metate/manos

The only other entrance/exit to Cliff house is a tunnel through a narrow passage. We have to crawl on our hands and knees to get through the tunnel. Defenders could easily bonk undesirables on the head as they attempt to invade through this tunnel.

People line up to exit through the tunnel

One last look at Balcony House before we exit

Yes - I made it through. It wasn't so bad

Our next stop is Spruce Tree House where we take a self guided tour. As we walk down the path to the ruins, we pass some birders who are excited over discovering a Great Horned Owl perched close to its nest. Although Peter spots it fairly quickly, it takes me longer to see it. The birders are even able to see the owlets with their naked eyes... which I never see until looking at these shots from our newest and strongest telephoto. Those birders certainly have sharp eyes.

Great Horned Owl - notice owlet spreading wings lower right

Is that one or two owlets?

Wow - its two owlets. One is much larger than the other

After the excitement of the owls, we continue on down into Spruce House.

With the blackened ceilings, this area must be living quarters

Red ocher painted decoration on interior wall

At 130 rooms, Spruce House is the third largest of the cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde.

Spruce House complete with a spruce tree on the right

As we wind up the day, we stop at view sites along the Mesa Top Loop Road.

Sun Temple ceremonial ruins

Unusual square shaped building

The most impressive ruin along this drive is Square Tower House. The five to six story square tower was the tallest man-made structure in the United States until the 1800's.  These square towers are more common in the later stages of the Anasazi culture. Perhaps they were easier to defend?

Square Tower House

Seeing these last remaining settlements of the Anasazi culture suffering from climate change and perhaps environmental depletion as well, gives us pause about the fate of our own culture as we face possible drastic climate changes to come.

Indian Country - Aztec NM

We leave Bloomfield and make the short drive northward to Aztec NM. The town has been misnamed. When the early Spanish explorers first came through this area, they saw the ruins of the pueblo and assumed it was part of the Aztec civilization they had seen in Mexico. Even though the Anasazi were not at all related to the Aztecs, the name stuck.

The town itself is clean and quaint with wide streets and old brick buildings.

We especially got a kick out Aztec's retro feel with its classic Aztec theater and original A&W building/sign. Yes - they even have a good Dairy Queen (our favorite on-the-road ice cream treat).

Aztec Theater

A&W in Aztec NM

After stocking up at the local grocery store, we drive over to the Aztec Ruins National Monument. To explore these ruins online, check out this interactive map of Aztec Ruins.

Entrance to Aztec Ruins National Monument

Visitor's Center

Model of Aztec Pueblo

The Visitors' Center has a nice small museum of artifacts found in the ruins.

Classic black and white Anasazi pottery

A very rare surviving ladder

Metate and manos for grinding corn

After checking out the museum and picking up a self-guided tour map from the Ranger, we walk out the back door to the ruins themselves.

Aztec Ruins - notice rebuilt Great Kiva on the right

Since Aztec was a distant community associated with Chaco Canyon, it has many similarities in building techniques.

Corner window for solar calendar

Chocked rock work

Hallway of doors

However Aztec also has it's own unique features as well, such, as streak of green rock running through the main outer walls. Since these walls were plastered over and not seen, it's unclear what the significance of the green rocks are.  Perhaps the more salient feature of Aztec is its reconstructed Great Kiva, which is the only Chacoan Kiva to be totally rebuilt. Earl H. Morris initially excavated these ruins in 1916 and was so taken by this Kiva he made it his life's work to rebuild it.

Streak of green rocks on outer wall

Outer wall of the Great Kiva

Great Kiva behind another still in ruins

Although there is some debate on how correct this reconstruction is (the roof might have been a little lower and perhaps dome shaped rather than flat), modern descendents of the Anasazi, are content with its general accuracy.

We were surprised to learn it took over 300 trees to build the roof alone. Considering that many of these trees may have been felled many miles away, carried and milled by hand, without the benefit of animals or modern tools, the amount of labor going into the original construction is mind boggling.

Entrance for priests (?)

The roof made of wood

Detail of roof pillar

The feeling of being inside the Great Kiva is an experience we were moved by. It's somewhat akin to being in one of the great cathedrals in Europe; however, instead of a soaring feeling we both felt more grounded, a part of the earth so to speak, with a solid sense of security. One of the Rangers described Kivas as not only being the community church, but also the church basement. Not only were religious ceremonies held in the Kivas, but also community meetings, and as a gathering place to keep warm in the winters where the daily work of weaving and other activities went on.

Inside the Great Kiva at Aztec Ruins