Mesa Verde

Today we had the chance to explore one of the cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park.  We made our way to the visitor center, stopping at an overlook.  To our surprise we saw a rescue team attempting to get a car that had ran itself off of the road over a steep embankment.  We think it was from the night before because one of the lanes was closed off last night and we saw a tow truck leave the site.

We got to the visitors center and saw the displays about Pueblo life in the 1200's.  Then we decided to take one of the tours of the Early Pueblo Cliff Dwellings.

 We could choose from three different tours.  We choose the easiest, because of my back and massive fear of height (you can see the Mammoth Cave entry of last years blog).  It was about an hour drive from our campsite to where the tour began.  The views were breath taking, but I was glad Doug was driving because it was very steep and curvy.

We made it to the tour site and off we went, down a steep hill and even steeper steps.  I was freaking but Doug was very helpful and motivating, while Hailey kept telling me to look down- LOL.  I did make it to the entrance of the dwelling.  It was truly amazing to see something over 8 hundred years old. It was built with such precision and detail that most of it is still intact today.

Sadly, I froze when it came to ascending the 15 foot ladder, so while everyone else went on, I hung back on the ground floor.  I met another woman, who also was afraid of heights and said that she has seen many things through the lens of her husbands camera.  Luckily I was able to hear the tour guide and listened intently.

After that we had to go back up the very steep steps and very steep hills, but I made it - to Doug's surprise (he told me afterwards).  We then went on to see several other overlooks via tram before returning to our car.  By that time we were all tired, and hot.  I was even feeling a bit dizzy, but a little candy and extra water did the trick.  We then began our drive back to the campsite.  As we were driving it began to thunder and lightning and before we knew it it was raining, hard.  So not only were we going down a curvy mountain road, we were doing it in the rain.  No, it was not just rain it was a mixture of snow and rain falling on us.  Huge heavy globs of wet snow.  I held on tight to the car door and prayed.

We made it back safely and Hailey started a campfire and Doug made hot dogs.  It was nice to sit down to a real dinner, not just a microwave meal.  Now we are roasting marshmallows waiting for the 9:00 (central) Ranger Talk.

It was another awesome day!