(Note: If you're reading this Wednesday night or Thursday morning it's because my trip to the bathroom worked! No matter how many ways I rewrite that it still doesn't sound right... read on for explanation)
Afternoon, Campers!
It's Silver Cliche' again… and again from Mesa Verde National Park.
Normally I write in the evening, but today I'm trying to get started
and finished early so I can tap into the campground internet which
doesn't reach as far as our campsite. To use it, I have to walk or
drive to one of the… ah… well… restrooms in the campground
which is where the National Park Service placed the WiFi antennas.
There are as many theories about why the antennas are there as there
are theories about who made the cliff dwellings here at Mesa Verde. I
subscribe to the “assured access to reading material” theory
which believes that the Park Service was funded by the Department of
Education's “Let's all read 20 minutes a day” program in an
attempt to make a visit to the outhouse an educational opportunity.
But that's just a theory.
Anyway, the rain and
gloom that hit us yesterday was still here this morning. The
temperature was in the 30's and the sky was a solid slate gray.
Fortunately, it was not still sleeting and there was no thunder. I
greeted Mrs. C's awakening with “Good morning, Honey, we've been
transported back to Buffalo.” OK, that's a cheap shot. Actually, we
love Buffalo, met and married there and visited our dear friends
there last September at which time it was in the 30's with a solid
gray sky (a slight exaggeration). Hi, Buff and Mrs. Buff!
We are nearly three
weeks on the road now and this campground has both a laundromat and a
cafe'. In light of the dreary start to the day we decided to load up
the laundry, drive up the hill, put a few washing machines to work,
grab breakfast while our clothes got clean, use the WiFi at the
cafe'/laundry and see if conditions had improved by the time we were
done. I'd give the trip a C-minus. The laundry came out clean, the
breakfast was so/so and the WiFi didn't work. On a brighter note, it
was showing early signs of clearing by the time we got back to the
trailer.
We made a plan:
Chill out in the cozy, warm Airstream for the rest of the morning.
Have some lunch and head to the centerpiece of Mesa Verde, the cliff
dwellings. When the time came, I whipped up two pita sandwiches with
lettuce, sliced tomato, fresh mozzarella and prosciutto (I thought
they needed salt and a touch of olive oil… Mrs. C' pronounced them
just right… so they were just right) and we were off!
In terms of
significant sites to see, this is where the trip actually starts.
Until now we've been sloughing through places that were en route
(e.g.: Louisiana), visiting people we wanted to see and generally
getting west. Now starts the part of the trip where we get to know
America. What a start!
Let me tell you
about the geography here. This appears to be the place where the
Rockies end and high plains begin. As we drove from the campground to
the ruins (about a 30 or 40 minute drive within the park heading
south) we paused to take some pictures that capture the Mesa Verde
landscape. Here is a view to the north from a high point of our
drive. The snow capped mountains are (I believe) near Grand Junction,
Colorado. Without internet I can't research thoroughly. So, looking
north from here is a wide plains area then very significant
mountains.
A bit farther I had
the chance to get a southern view. Here is an example of a repeating
landscape in Mesa Verde and, as you will see, the reason this is a
World Heritage Site. This area has several large Mesas which are
roughly 7,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level and have been cut through
by canyons that are up to 2,000 feet deep. The rock along the canyon
walls are sedimentary (I'm thinking sandstone) and in some areas are
so stratified that they look like they were used as a cat scratcher
(I'd hate to meet the cat that did this).
So, this is the
place where high mountains give way to canyon country and plains to
the south. Here's a view that brings those features together.
If you did not
notice, the dark arched area just below the top of the cliff in that
picture is a natural alcove with houses in it. Here, check out this
closer look:
That's why we are
here… the cliff dwellings. We stopped at the ranger station to
consider our options and gather our guidance and we were off to see
and photograph the cliff dwellings. In one spectacular stretch there
were seven dwellings of various sizes visible from a single panorama.
You can easily spot some of the larger ones in this picture. The
smallest was essentially a single room set off from the others. The
rangers and archaeologists do not know what purpose the small one
served. I offered a theory that it was constructed for the Chief's
mother-in-law… it's just a theory.
Here are focused
shots of some of the larger, more noteworthy “houses”, the
largest of which is actually called “Cliff Palace” and the other
“Tower House”. Just to give you a sense of scale and location, in
the Tower House picture, directly above the cliff dwelling you may
spot a row of cars including the trusty Tundra which is directly
above the tower itself. When we parked there we had absolutely no
idea that there was, or even could be, a village 100' away and under
our feet.
and a range of
smaller ones:
It was amazing and
inspiring. The people who built and occupied these cliff dwellings
left no written records, so it is difficult to put their story
together with certainty. It is believed they were the ancestors of
the Pueblo Indians (of various tribes) who were living in this region
(but not in these dwellings) when Europeans first arrived in Western
North America. What is know from archaeological research is that the
people who built these structures first lived on top of the mesas.
There are many ruins of their earlier buildings. We saw some.
Anywhere else those ruins would be celebrated. Here at Mesa Verde
with the cliff dwellings only 100's of feet away, those mesa-top
ruins are b-o-r-i-n-g!
Somewhere around
1200 AD they began to build and occupy the structures you see above.
They didn't use them for long – perhaps a hundred or so years.
During that time they hunted and grew crops, mostly on top of the
mesas which were accessible from the houses and palaces by climbing
using handholds in the cliff face. Why they moved down from the mesa
tops in the first place is not known. Defense from enemies?
Protection from the elements? It's all theories. What caused them to
leave? Disease, drought, eradication by enemies? Also not known. I
have a theory that a rare genetic mutation brought on a generation of
sleepwalkers and that was that… but it's just a theory. It's
amazing that they left behind so many intricate structures that have
survived nearly 1,000 years (ask yourself what the house you live in
would look like in 1,000 years without the occasional new roof and
fresh coat of Sherwin Williams) and we can see them today.
So, class, that's
the short version, profusely illustrated, of the Mesa Verde story. We
were amazed. I hope you were too! Tomorrow it's off to Navajo
National Monument, Arizona with planned stops at the 4 corners and
(perhaps) Monument Valley.
Not sure whether
we'll have internet in the land of the Navajo (I'm sure we'll find
casinos). I'll share more tales (some tall, some not) as soon as I
can.
Later...
SC'
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