Monday, September 26, 2011

Mesa Verde National Park

Fern in Four States at Four Corners
Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado

Mesa Verde National Park

Cliff Palace

Cliff Palace Tour with the Ranger

In 1964, I was lucky enough to be invited by Maggie Seymour, a Guilford College friend, to join her and two other girls on a cross-country trip.  My mother had spent time in the West in the summers and on a sabattical from her teaching position studying in Arizona.  All her tales had made an impression on me so off I went.  The trip was a wonderful introduction to our American West and left me with many wonderful memories. 

One of the places my Mom suggested we visit was Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.  We did visit Colorado but the group decision was to skip Mesa Verde and go on to the Grand Canyon. I always kept in the back of my mind the dream of seeing Mesa Verde.  In 2000, I visited Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico.  It also has cliff dwellings left by the ancestors of today’s Indians.  But it was not Mesa Verde.

Mesa Verde was everything my Mom had promised.  She visited not long after the Civilian Conservation Corp had built steps and trails allowing access to the dwellings. The Museum was built in the twenties, and shows the years of wear and tear from visitors.  A new Museum and Visitors Center is being built now to open next year.  The dwellings have been maintained by the Park Rangers to keep them from further deterioration.  It is amazing to be able to stand where an ancient people had built a society and had survived in the area for 1300 years. The archeologists have done a wonderful job uncovering the past in the canyon and on the land above it.  We were able to join a ranger lead group to Cliff Palace where the only challenges were 130 steps down and a similar number up again that included three ladders, the altitude of 7,000 feet and the hot afternoon sun.

Fern and I have spent many days on this trip in our National Parks.  They are an enormous treasure for all of us to enjoy.  We can see the government cutbacks just by noticing how few Park Rangers were present.  As a nation, we must continue to support these areas and visit them as often as possible. 



Fern holding up an Ancient Ruin

Cliff Overhang

Cliff Palace 130 Steps Down and 130 Up to the Top

Four Story Construction

From Across the Canyon

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1 comment:

  1. Glad to see you are enjoying so many of the amazing national parks, I agree they are a real treasure. I also like your story about grandma, her travel I find inspiring.

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