Today, we took Dora the Explorer (aka Miss Beaver, the Rig) back to the CAT dealer to remove the radiator. The guys got right on it and started to dismantle the rear of the coach. Seeing this was going to be a day long project, we took the Jeep (aka Boots, Dora's sidekick) 50 miles west to
MESA VERDE ( green table) National Park. This area was home to the Ancestral Puebloans (village dwellers) 1,400 years ago. These people were farmers raising their crops of corn, beans and squash
on top of the Mesa, supplementing their diet with deer, rabbits, squirrels, and other game. The only domestic animals were dogs and turkey. Most of the cliff dwellings were built from the late 1190's to late 1270s. By 1300 the Mesa was deserted. When the cliff dwellers of Mesa Verde left, they traveled south into New Mexico and Arizona. The cliff dwellings were found in 1880 by two cowboys; the park
was created in 1906.
After you drive pass the entrance gate, you start to climb and climb, around hairpin turns, with mouth dropping scenery that a camera can't capture at 45 mph. With time constraints, we opted for one cliff dwelling to discover--CLIFF PALACE
Statue at visitor center
UP UP AND AWAY
Narrow Entry Passage to the Ruins
Will he fit?
The tree everyone grabs
I HAVE TO CLIMB THAT-- 100 FT. UP!
KIVA --Hopi word for ceremonial room
KIVAs were the gathering places
SO FAR SO GOOD
GLAD BUZZ IS BEHIND ME
ALMOST THERE-ARE YOU ALRIGHT BUZZ?
CATCHING OUR BREATH
WE DID IT WOW!
COMING DOWN
GLAD WE HAD NO LUNCH
GOING 65mph DOWN- NOT A BAD PICTURE
WHEE-WHEE-WHEEEEEE
OUR CAMPSITE FOR THE WEEKEND
DRY CAMPING--NO HOOKUPS
LEVELEST SITE YET
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