Our next stop in Colorado was Mesa Verde National Park. We signed up for the Long House tour on the western end of the park. Seeing these ancient cliff dwellings was so impressive!
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We learned that at one point in time, Cliff Palace likely had about 150 rooms, 21 kivas, and a row of upper storage rooms. It's so amazing to think that people once lived here, literally in the side of a cliff.
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Ladder climbing was a great part of the adventure!
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Some of the kivas...
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Such a cool view!
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After the tour, our family enjoyed a picnic lunch in the beautiful Colorado sunshine.
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The drive out to Wetherwill Mesa, where the Long House tour began, was nearly 30 miles on a winding road. On our return trip out of the park, we stopped at some of the lookout points to appreciate the beautiful views.
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We also drove around the Mesa Top Loop where we saw the remains of pit houses...
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more amazing scenery,
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and Sun Temple, an ancient ceremonial structure.
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Also along this loop drive, we were able to view a few more of the park's cliff dwellings from a lookout point.
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This particular dwelling, Cliff Palace, is one of the park's largest and most famous. We were unable to get a tour through this cliff dwelling because of road construction along the Cliff Palace Loop.
The silver lining of the road construction is that we were able to get some photos of Cliff Palace with no visitors inside. What a large and impressive dwelling!
Our last stop before exiting Mesa Verde was Park Point Overlook, the park's highest point in elevation at 8,572 feet. The overlook contained a fire lookout tower manned many hours of the day by a park ranger. This park ranger is treated by some incredible views at this overlook! Isn't our Creator God amazing?
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Along our drive, Adley completed the necessary activities in her Jr. Ranger booklet. She was proud to receive her second Jr. Ranger badge of the trip at the Visitor's Center.
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Cody was well-entertained at the Visitor's Center too. Ha!
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What a unique and historical national park!
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