Cliff-Dwellings

Today we visited Mesa Verde National Park.  It was quite a long drive into the park and the visitor centre was at an elevation of 7,000 feet.  The cliff-dwellers and the mesa dwellers above them numbered about 6,000 in this area.  They farmed corn, beans and squash and had storage areas for firewood, water and food.  Nobody really knows why they left but they only lived here for about 100 to 125 years.  The people used little toe and finger holds in the rock walls to clamber about and believe me, there are some shear drops.  We had the luxury of ladders and steps.  

This picture is just a mistake.  Ignore.

Except for this bit which was a 12 foot tunnel.  Here you see the intrepid Clancy doing her best to emerge into the light.  

This is the largest of the cliff-dwellings known as Cliff Palace.  There are lots of dwelling places and lots of ceremonial "kivas" which are round and each family unit seemed to have their own.  However, they now believe this particular village was a gathering place for people from all over for trading and ceremonies.  

This is a Kiva.  It would originally have had a roof and people would have entered from the top down a ladder.  We had the chance to enter a reconstructed one this afternoon and it was lovely and cool.  However, they often had fires in this rooms.  

Speaking of fires, about 2/3rds of the park has been burned in three years of fires since 2002.  Partly to do with drought and partly with the move to suppress fires anyway and partly to do with some beetle, the result has been rather disastrous.  Many, many acres of burnt crispy trees that are now fuel for the next fire.  All started by lightening too.  

And now to bed.  Tomorrow we head to Canyon de Chelly (pronounced de Shay).  

Bye for now.