I'm not a huge fan of the national park system, they are why we have elk problems near my home, but I love seeing the history and culture associated with Mesa Verde.


The ladder into Balcony House. 32 feet.

I hit the wrong button. More to post. Cliff Palace.





Kiva from Balcony House.



Assent from Balcony House

Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess

We read some signs about the native foods used by the cliff dwellers. So I got my son a book at the gift shop about uses of wild plants. I'm pretty sure we are having dandelion salad and acorn mash for Thanksgiving this year if he can find enough.
Edit. Type error.

Pretty Neat. I've heard a lot of people that been say it's haunted

Not in a bad way.

Thanks for posting the picks. Went there as a kid 30+ years ago and it was awesome. Took a day trip out of Lake City. Need to try and get my kids up there in the next couple of summers.

I went to Medan Verde when I was probably 5 or 6 years old. The thing I remember most is that it was starting to rain as we got into the cliff dwellings and that first clap of thunder was so loud I nearly clapped my pants!

We spent a day and a half in there with our kids 3 summers ago. Amazing place. One afternoon we were stopped for lunch in a parking area near the edge of one of the canyons and a huge rainstorm moved through really quickly. After it was done we could hear water running everywhere. We got out and walked to the edge of the canyon and at every little draw & low spot around the canyon wall was a waterfall. Dozens of them. We sat and ate our sammiches and watched until they became mere trickles.

Bandelier National Monument has some very nice ruins and are not as heavily traveled as Mesa Verde. At one time you could take a 6 mile day hike up to THE SHRINE OF THE STONE LIONS. It was a great place. That was a lot of years ago but it was worth the trip.

The combination of my fear of heights and safety rules from working in a chemical plant has me pretty freaked out by some of those pics...

But it sure is beautiful and interesting.

W TX Refugee said:

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Thanks for posting the picks. Went there as a kid 30+ years ago and it was awesome. Took a day trip out of Lake City. Need to try and get my kids up there in the next couple of summers.

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Did the same back in that same timeframe. I think the site is a must see if you are in that area.

Awesome. Wonderful place. Can't wait to take my kids.

If you visit Mesa Verde then you aren't far from Chaco Canyon NHP in northwestern NM. Ruins built by same people (Ancestral Puebloans) around the same time but in a much different environment. Plus camping overnight is best stargazing I've ever experienced. Rangers said closest porch light is dozens of miles away.

Well that looks a whole lot cooler than Seminole Canyon.