Ancient Cliff Dwellings and More Effing LADDERS!

We left Goosenecks on Thursday, 4/6, and made our way to Ancient Cedars RV Park situated just outside the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park near Cortez, CO.  We’re sitting at 6000+ feet of elevation and it’s a tad chilly. In fact, we hit a low of 16° one night. Brrrrrrrr. The park is even higher, topping out at 8572 feet, and there is still snow on the slopes.

View of Mesa Verde from the campground.

Mesa Verde National Park was created in 1906 to preserve the archeological heritage of the ancient Pueblo Indians. There are over 4,500 archeological sites in the park including 600 cliff dwellings. This early in the season the campground and about a third of the park roads were still closed for winter. Some of the cliff dwellings were also closed due to potential rock falls, but there was still plenty to see!

Friday, our first day in the park, we drove the Mesa Top Loop and hiked the Petroglyph Trail. The signpost said the trail was 2.8 miles with 100 feet of elevation change. I swear we went up 100 feet at least five times.  When we got done, I asked the ranger just how they calculated their elevation change. He said it was done by computer, well somebody ought to make that computer hike that trail again! Lol. Actually, it was a fun trail with lots of scrambling up rocks and steep stairs, narrow passages through boulders and lovely views. Oh, and the petroglyphs, which was supposed to be the point! 😊

Park Point Lookout, elevation 8572 ft.

Spruce Tree House.

On the Petrogylph Trail - fun!

So nice to see BIG trees for a change. :)

Petroglyph rock.

The Mesa Top Loop has several overlooks with views of the most impressive cliff dwellings. We stopped to walk through the mesa top ruins too. The Ancestral Puebloans lived in this area for about 700 years from 750AD to 1300AD. Most of that time they lived scattered on top of the mesa, farming their fields. Over time they began concentrating in villages and became skilled stone masons. It wasn’t until the last hundred years or so, around 1200AD, that they built the cliff dwellings. Then for reasons that are still a mystery around 1300AD they abandoned the cliff dwellings and moved away, traveling south into what is now New Mexico and Arizona.

Square Tower House.

Cliff Palace.

The Kiva is a circular area of the pueblo structure that was mostly below ground.
When in use, it would have been roofed and used for living space and ceremonial activities. 

Before moving to the cliff dwellings, the Puebloans built large stone villages on the mesa top.

We had planned to leave on Sunday, but we decided to stay an extra day when we found out that they would begin ranger-led tours to Balcony House on Monday, 4/10. It would be a chance to walk through one of the cliff dwellings that up to now we’d only seen from the viewpoints.

Moose & More. Yum!

In the meantime, we kept ourselves busy exploring the area and making repeat appearances at Moose and More – a super cute little shop in Cortez featuring homemade ice cream and handmade artisan chocolates.  It was run by a young couple, he makes the ice cream and she makes the chocolates. We had both so we couldn’t be accused of favoritism. Lol. 

Rog was also super excited about the mountain biking trails in the area. On Saturday, he rode all 28 miles of trail at Phil’s World which is supposed to be one of top trail systems in the country. He loved it and would be happy to come back for another run at it. Sorry, no pictures. Ahem, somebody forgot to take their camera.

When we went to purchase our tickets for the Balcony House tour the ranger let us know there was a 30-foot ladder and one area where you had to crawl through a short tunnel. There was even a short mockup of the ladder in the visitor’s center – a big double wide deal made out of stout timbers. Well, about that ladder. I mentioned to the ranger that we’d just been to Natural Bridges and done the ladders there. She assured me that if I could navigate those rickety things, the ladder here wouldn’t be a problem. Ours are rock solid, she says. I decide to pull up my big girl panties and do this. What somehow failed to be conveyed was the number and insane heights of the ladders (yes that is plural!) on the Balcony House tour. But we’ll get to that.

We show up for the 2pm tour and there are around 30 of us ranging in age from about 7 to 70, there was even one itty-bit in a backpack.  I chat with one gal who doesn’t like heights either, good, we can do this together. Then the ranger gives a brief description of what we’ll see and do. Waaaaait a minute. Did he just say after the 30-foot ladder and the tunnel there is ANOTHER ladder and then a steep climb up a sheer rock face, and then ANOTHER ladder. Whose idea was this, anyway?! Oh right, mine. Grab them panties and snug 'em up, I can do this.

The first part of the tour descends on a perfectly serviceable metal staircase. Piece of cake. Then a short stroll along a trail. No problem. The ranger stops to narrate along the way, talking about the history of the people and the cliff dwellings. Interesting, but I’m thinking about those ladders. We get to the first one. Gulp. Thirty feet looks taller than it sounds. I look around, there is a pretty wide platform at the base of the ladder. If I fall, I should survive. I can do this. The kids scramble up the dang thing like monkeys. They have no clue as to their mortality, damn them. Lol. Rog climbs up (smiling the whole time!) and with shaky knees and sweating palms I follow. Whew! Made it, the worst is over, right? Ha! Not by a long shot!!

 

The first ladder.  Love how the kids scrambled up without a care in the world. Check out the view from above - arrrrrgh!

At this level, we get to walk through the ruins of the cliff dwelling. The ranger talks about the kivas, what the various rooms are for, and how the dwelling evolved and changed over time. The entrance (read that ladder) we just used was added by the park so the tours could come in one side and out the other. We would be leaving by what had been the only route in and out. In the last building phase the entrance had been blocked up so the only way in was to crawl on hands and knees through a tunnel about 12 feet long. Archeologists cannot say for sure what prompted the changes, but there is evidence of a long drought and they speculate that the changes made the space more defensible against violent raids. Interesting stuff – I almost forgot about the fun to come.

Balcony House.

We crawl through the tunnel (that part was fun!) and then up another ladder which leads right into the steep climb up sheer rock. The Puebloans carved tiny little toe holds into the rock, which the park service thankfully enlarged (don’t think any of the Ancestral Puebloans were wearing a size 13 shoe!) and added some hand rails. A young boy behind me was scared and started to lose it, so I made it up this ladder and the rock face in Mom-mode talking him through it. So far, so good.

Rog entering the tunnel, this part was fun. (And I enjoyed the view.) Lol.

Rog going up Ladder #2.

Coming up the steep cliff side, being in Mom-mode helped (as did the handrails). 

Then I look up. Holy shit! The last ladder is another big one. At least a 30-footer, but the kicker is it’s a sheer drop about a million feet into the canyon below. If you lose it after the halfway point you will have a loooooooong time to contemplate how much you love ladders before you bounce. (FYI – I have sweaty palms just typing this!) OK, there is only one way out and that is up. I can do this. And I did. But I heard several folks say after making the top that they’d never do that again. Amen. 😊

Rog, laughing in the face of death! Lol.

Looking down, yep, I climbed that (sweaty palms and all). 

An overview of our afternoon's death defying act. Lol.
Ladders #1, #2 (hidden behind the boulder) and #3 (do you see how high up that sucker is?!)

Soda Canyon.

In truth, I am glad we stayed and did the Balcony House tour. It was very interesting and a near-death experience is the perfect justification for more chocolate! Lol. We leave Tuesday, 4/11, and hope to get a spot in the Squaw Flats campground in Canyonlands National Park. It’s small, so if we don’t get lucky we’ll have to come up with a Plan B.