As we continue.... That evening and into the night the heavens opened up and it rained for a few hours. We had planned on staying at Chaco for the whole vacation, but my nephew has never been in the area and I wanted to show him just a little of Mesa Verde. So, the following morning, we packed camp and headed out. Because of the previous rain, there were a few muddy patches on the road that were slicker than snot. It made for a fun ~25 mile ride out of the park until we hit pavement. Good thing I had an all wheel drive car, even then we were a little sideways at times, it was FUN though, just glad we didn't get stuck.
Roughly 100 miles later, we arrive at Mesa Verde, in Southwest Colorado. This area is much different than Chaco. Instead of almost no people, Mesa Verde is PACKED with tourists from all over the world. Another difference is that Chaco is famous for its Great houses that are situated on open tableland, where Mesa Verde is famous for its Cliff Dwellings that tenuously cling to the side of cliffs, usually with a sheer vertical drop to the canyon floor. So, different construction techniques were used between the two as well as a completely different way of life for the Anasazi who lived here.
One other thing I liked about Chaco was that the whole place was open to explore at your leisure (you still need to stay on trails) I didn't see a park ranger anywhere during my visit. Mesa Verde, on the other hand, is a very structured environment with strict time tables and very little freedom to view the sites at your own pace. Many of the areas on top of the mesa are open to walk through without a guide, but just about every cliff dwelling has to be seen in a guided tour where the park ranger talks for 55 minutes and you only get one or two minutes at the end to take a few photos and look at the site. You are then ushered off to make room for the next group. Leaving little time to actually enjoy the site. Only a few of the thousands of sites are open to the public.
I understand why Mesa Verde has to be run like this though. There are so many people who visit on a daily basis that it really can't be run any other way. I MUCH prefer the "go at your own pace" experience you get at Chaco though.
Enough rambling, on to the photos!
The first cliff dwelling we visited is Balcony House. This is a pretty fun cliff dwelling tour to go on as you have to climb tall wood ladders, crawl through tunnels and climb up the cliff face while all you have to hold onto is a chain set in the stone. Probably my favorite of the bunch. It is a smaller cliff dwelling, but is very well preserved.
Balcony House was built with defense in mind. Here is the original entrance to the alcove where the cliff dwelling is located. There are two 8-foot SMALL tunnels with a central area to stand in. We are bigger guys (not fat wise
) and have to go in sideways as our shoulders don't fit.
This was a defensive fortification built later in Balcony Houses occupation. It is theorized that someone was on guard in the central area of the tunnel, only letting those pass he recognized. All others had their heads caved in as they tried to crawl through.
My brother going into the tunnel
Next up, Cliff Palace. This is the largest cliff dwelling in the park. You access the alcove by a number of stairs, some carved from the native rock.
I REALLY wish I had more time here to take photos, without all the crowds getting in the way.
This is a shot taken from the entrance to a 4 story tower block. The original floors have crumbled, leaving some of the substructure behind. You can see on the third level how these structures were originally plastered. The plaster and decorative paint are untouched, original work from roughly 800 years ago.
Up next, Spruce Tree House and Spruce Canyon