Mesa Verde

Last October Randy and I were planning to go to Mesa Verde for a couple days, but a snow storm sent us to Las Vegas. So this year we tried the Mesa Verde trip again.

This time the weather held out for the most part. This dwelling was built 800 or so years ago by Native Americans who abandoned this area due to a drought and whose ancestors are the current-day Pueblos in southern New Mexico and elsewhere. That's according to this year's crop of Park Service guides. Other years you might hear that no one knows where the inhabitants went or why. This is the Cliff Palace.

This is the cliff sitter. We ate our picnic lunch near here.

The Cliff Palace at sunset from across the canyon.

A kiva is a large round hole in the ground with a wooden-beam-and-adobe roof that has a single hole in the center for entering and exiting. Kivas may have been used for religious ceremonies, community activities, and sleeping. Your guess is as good as anyone's. This kiva is at the Balcony House complex.

The Spruce Tree House complex is near the visitor center and is the only structure that you can tour any time of year. It's also relatively easy to get to, being in the bottom of a canyon rather than a cliff high up on the canyon wall. The guided tours to Cliff Palace and Balcony House close in October. Another area closes after Labor Day, so we didn't go there.

Getting to and out of the Balcony House requires climbing some ladders straight up the side of the cliff (not really that scary) and squeezing through this tunnel. With water getting scarce due to a long drought around 1280 and with the Balcony House having a seep spring, these protected entrances and exits may have been designed to keep the other Pueblos out of the Balcony's water supply.

We saw several deer, a coyote running along the road (I didn't have my camera ready, but I got a picture out the driver's window with Randy's camera--I'll add it when I get it from Randy)...

We saw some wild turkeys at the Spruce Tree House...

A flock of turkey buzzards...

And a lot of late-season bees gathering the last of the nectar (with legs packed with pollen).

At night we were treated to a lightening display that lasted quite a while but then turned into a wicked hail and rain storm on top of us. Luckily we had just gotten into the car when it hit.

We also got a great view of the Milky Way. I always forget how beautiful the sky is at night where there aren't a lot of city lights.

We stayed at the National 9 Sand Canyon Inn (not my picture) because it was the cheapest place I could find in Cortez ($50). The room had a new air conditioner, a broken window latch (we cut up a hanger and used that as a window lock), ample black sticky splotches in the carpet, and painted-over mildew on the bathroom ceiling. The sheets were clean and the TV had a ton of cable channels.

The next day we drove to Durango and spent a couple hours at the Trimble hot springs resort (not my picture) in the hot and hotter pools, lawn chairs, sauna, and Olympic-size swimming pool.

Then we stopped for lunch at Serious Texas Barbecue. I ate a brisket sandwich and Randy ordered a pulled-pork sandwich. STB makes a great vinegar-based BBQ sauce. I was skeptical at first, because I don't care for eastern North Carolina BBQ, which is vinegar based. But this one was sweet with a little tomato, and who know what else. It was so good I bought a small bottle to take home.

We sat on the bluff above the city for a while and then watched the last train on the narrow-gauge Durango-Silverton Railway come in. The ride to Silverton is a great experience, but it costs $80 each so we skipped it this time.

This phone booth is near the train station.

On Wednesday, we headed home, but we had to stop at the Adobe Milling store for some Anasazi beans. Anasazi beans are a lot like pinto beans, but they don't produce as much gas, or so they tell us. Unfortunately, this year was wet and cool and the Anasazi beans have't been harvested yet. They are dried on the vine. So I bought a 50-pound sack of pinto beans for our food storage.

We couldn't go through Green River without stopping for some melons. I picked out a honeydew and a cantaloupe and told the lady at the stand that my wife likes one and I like the other. So she also sold me a melon that is a cross, a honeyloupe or cantadew or something like that. I also picked up a real watermelon (one with real seeds). Chieko and I decided this is the best-tasting watermelon we've had this year. All the melons were really good.

I can't pass Provo without stopping at Tommy's for a chili cheese dog.