Wetherill Mesa (Mesa Verde)

Square Tower

We stopped at some other locations on the way to our 4 o'clock tour of Long House.  One was Square Tower - an overlook.  Another was not too far  from a Visitor's Center, the Sun Temple.  While on the Badger House Trail, we were stopped just as we had pulled in to park by a park ranger/officer.  He stated there was an incident involving a man trespassing onto an site being excavated at the same time we were going around from site to site.  He asked if we were involved in that.  Of course, not!  According to an archeologist or excavator  there was a man who fled in a car similar to our's - a silver sedan (our car is NOT silver).   Jared didn't fit the man's description at all nor the clothes that he was wearing yet the officer still asked for Jared's license and called in his info and our license plate and such to the main office as if we were guilty.  We never did find out if they found the guy or not.  I guess sometimes in this country we are made to feel as if we are guilty until proven innocent.  Good thing they didn't try to slap us with a fine!  Yeah, I am kinda offended but I would still go back to Mesa Verde just because of the awesome camping and sites. 
   

Outside of the Sun Temple

A site on the  Badger House Trail

         

Mesa Verde - Long House

Long House

To end the day, we took the last tour of the day over on Wetherill Mesa.  It was much further away from anything because it was at the end of the mesa, so if I recall correctly it took about an hour just to get there.  Then we took a tram (open-air bus) to where our tour would begin a 4 p.m.   It seemed that for most of the tour we were actually behind the dwellings under an alcove. Water would seep through the rock, as you can see, and moss would grow as a result. In the picture above we were waiting for the other group ahead of us to exit the dwelling.

The alcove where we mainly walked along

Beautiful view

View of Long House at end of tour

 

View of Four Corners

Leaving Wetherill Mesa after a long day

Mesa Verde - Cliff Palace

View of Cliff Palace from landing

Our next tour of the day was Cliff Palace, the largest dwelling in the park.  It housed a small community and contained over 20 kivas (rooms used for religious rituals).  The tour lasted over well over an hour and it was quite the little hike down to the cave.    It made the heat of the day a bit more bearable.   

                          

Mesa Verde - Balcony House

Jared at Balcony House

Kristen at Balcony House

Once we checked into the campground, we went to the ranger office where tickets for tours are sold and purchased tickets for 3 tours for the next day.
We set out Thursday morning for our first tour Balcony House bright and early beginning at 8 a.m. sharp. It is located on Chapin Mesa, not too far from our campground so it didn't take too long of a drive to get there. It lasted about an hour.  There were some small spaces to crawl through.  Talk about claustrophobia!   And there isn't really any turning back once you start because it is a one way tour.  If you suffer from claustrophobia or anxiety, it really is mind over matter, taking deep breaths and removing the focus to something else.  Anyhow, it was fun to learn about these cliff dwellers.  It is crazy how they got there in the first place, tucked away in the side of a mesa and were able to build homes.  It is believed that these homes were only temporary. 

One of the narrow spaces to crawl through

Camp sight

Yes, I meant sight not site.  It was quite the sight when we found a site suitable for ourselves to pitch our tent and have a little privacy so we thought until we realized that Mama Mule deer and her fawn wanted to graze close by.   They did not stay long, however.  There was still one deer around our site who decided to plop down on some tall grass and just sat there watching us.  Up went our tent, set up our bedding, and ate some dinner before heading off to a program in a nearby amphitheater.  Later, we saw them all around near the roadside.  It was nice to see a "real"  deer not the Great Dane size we see down around these parts.   And the nights were nice and cool as would be expected in a higher elevation - a nice break from the summer heat.

Check out her ears!

Mesa Verde - Last Day

Spruce Tree House

Jared in the kiva

The last day we hit Spruce Tree House.  Having read Family Fun magazine before our trip, I had seen that there was a kiva that we could actually climb down into.  We really wanted to see that ruin before we left.   There was a trail leading down to it from a visitor's center.  It was quite windy and steep but really not back until you had to hike back up.  Part of the trail towards the bottom was shaded and it was nice and cool - rather rewarding after being in the hot morning sun.

Inside the kiva

Wilson's Arch

We shoved off from Jared's brother's place the following Wednesday headed for Mesa Verde, Colorado located near the Four Corners (Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico) to spend a couple days there camping and exploring.  Along the way, we passed Arches National Park and further down the road there was an arch we stopped at.  We spent probably a good half hour hiking up to the arch, then exploring, climbing around, and taking in the view.