Mesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde National Park is located about an hour and a half from Farmington, New Mexico, so we decided that we would stop there on our way back home from visiting the Goodlucks. On the way up to the park we ran into an actual cattle drive. I didn't get a picture of all the cows, because I was too interested in seeing REAL cowboys. I got these two pictures, but missed a third that was carrying a baby calf in his arms. It was pretty cool to see.

Another picture in front of a National Park sign. In case you're wondering, I DO own other sweatshirts besides this red one. It's just that most of my stuff is packed up at the house in Utah, so this is the only sweatshirt I've got with me. I'm sure that none of you noticed, but it's been bugging me that I'm wearing this in ALL our pictures. :)

The ruins were amazing, nestled right into the side of the canyon. The Anasazi or ancient Puebloan people built into the crevices of the cliffs mainly to provide shelter from the harsh elements of the southwest. It was crazy to be standing there and seeing structures built around the time of Christ, and inhabited for almost 800 years following that initial settlement.

The ruin we visited is called Spruce Tree House, the easiest ruin to hike to. We're told there was an even better example of the ruins, but the hike involved multiple staircases, ladders and strenuous hiking, that I wasn't up for. Still, we were both pretty happy with being able to see this, and while it may not be the best example the park has to offer, it was REALLY COOL. By the way, the black on the ceiling rock in the photo below is from the many fires used by the anasazi people who once inhabited these ruins. AMAZING.






The wooden beams used to divide floors and support balconies are still visible in the upper right of the photo below.

This is solid rock along the trail to Spruce Tree House ruin. The rust colored blobs look like old pipes or melted re-bar sticking out of the rock. When we asked about it, we were told that these were all areas where water ran through these rocks, and over thousands of years, the iron deposits built up and created natural pipe-looking structures. Crazy, huh?


One more look at the Spruce Tree House ruins from the top of the canyon.

I was pretty proud of myself for doing OK with the hike, especially after we ran into the following sign. Since we love signs, we decided to take a picture of it. :)