Mesa Verde. What can I say? That we have the opportunity to stand in a home built by Ancestral Pueblo people built in the mid-1100’s and look down the same canyon is…I don’t have the words. What’s the world that encompasses wonder, curiosity, admiration, humility, reflection, joy, stillness, connection, respect and energy? What word do you use when you feel so much?

I chose to visit later in the season to miss the heat and the crowds. That meant that I missed the chance to tour Cliff Palace. But I did get to tour Balcony House. It was a thrill to climb up the ladder to the dwelling, shuffle through narrow walkways to reach the balcony and squeeze through tight tunnels to exit the cliff. And standing in the same place the Ancestral Peubloans stood 800+ years ago…there’s nothing like it.

A Ranger lead tour revealed that the teeth of Puebloan people were nearly flat when they died. Sandstone Metates (grindstones) and Manos (palm stone) resulted in a sandy diet.

 

I walked down to Spruce House to explore an intact Kiva. It was cool and comfortable and small!