Trip Journal: The Great Bluff Meet-up, II, plus Mesa Verde and Moab
Tuesday, October 4 through Friday, October 14, 2016
Tuesday, October 4 through Friday, October 14, 2016
Part II: Just Lynn and Me in Mesa Verde and Arches
Sunday, October 9, through Friday, October 14, 2016 |
Part two of the trip and this journal covers the time following the meet-up when Lynn and I added some new territory and new National Parks to our list. Lots of great places to explore plus plenty of quiet time to just enjoy the surroundings. We start on day 6 of the overall trip as we leave Bluff and head out on new adventures….
Day 6 – Sunday, October 9 – Heading to Mesa Verde by way of Hovenweap. As usual we are up early this morning but there is no real pressure to get rolling. We basically have the day to get to Mesa Verde. The only schedule would be to get to the Visitor Center at Mesa Verde in time to purchase tour tickets for the Ranger-led tours on the following days, but even then we have until 4:00 PM. I had scoped out a couple options for stops along the way as well. We decided to go to Hovenweep National Monument but opted to skip Yucca House National Monument this trip. We figured that if the directions included “head towards the white ranch house with the red roof on the western horizon” and to make sure and “close all gates behind you to prevent livestock from escaping” it might be just a little more that we wanted to deal with today. I also scoped out the grocery and beer store options in Cortez so that we can restock before we get to Mesa Verde. Alrighty then, we have a plan and the sun is not yet above the horizon.
We started getting our gear together then went over to Dukes for breakfast. Unlike our dinner here earlier in the week, we opted to sit indoors as it was beyond chilly this morning, probably close to the freezing mark. But inside was fine. I think there was one other party seated when we arrived. Our server was Shoni and she was delightful and very engaging. We had a few questions about the menu which she happily answered. We quickly converged on the blue corn pancakes which ended up being an excellent choice. Shoni late shared with us that the Navajo use blue corn as part of their fertility rites and that the Hopi make a paper thin bread. She compared the bread to the thin layers of phyllo used in baklava.
We enjoyed our relaxed breakfast then went back to the cabin to finish packing. I filled the cooler to keep the rest of our beer at the proper temperature then loaded the car. We were checked out and on the road by 8:50, heading east back through Bluff. I fought the urge to stop at the Hen House, but we had already said our goodbyes last night, but I did blow the horn as we passed by. Not a lot of action there this morning by the lack of vehicles.
As mentioned, it was cool this morning and also overcast, but that made for easy driving conditions as we drove north on route 191. Considering my track record so far this trip, I typed Hovenweep National Monument into the GPS and let Baby be the navigator. Just before we reached White Mesa we turned east onto route 262 marking the start of exploration of new territory for us for the day. Good thing that I relied on the GPS. Even though most of the trip is fairly straight forward, there were several quick turns in close succession as we got closer to our destination. The route did have pretty clear signage. Still better safe than sorry.
Day 6 – Sunday, October 9 – Heading to Mesa Verde by way of Hovenweap. As usual we are up early this morning but there is no real pressure to get rolling. We basically have the day to get to Mesa Verde. The only schedule would be to get to the Visitor Center at Mesa Verde in time to purchase tour tickets for the Ranger-led tours on the following days, but even then we have until 4:00 PM. I had scoped out a couple options for stops along the way as well. We decided to go to Hovenweep National Monument but opted to skip Yucca House National Monument this trip. We figured that if the directions included “head towards the white ranch house with the red roof on the western horizon” and to make sure and “close all gates behind you to prevent livestock from escaping” it might be just a little more that we wanted to deal with today. I also scoped out the grocery and beer store options in Cortez so that we can restock before we get to Mesa Verde. Alrighty then, we have a plan and the sun is not yet above the horizon.
We started getting our gear together then went over to Dukes for breakfast. Unlike our dinner here earlier in the week, we opted to sit indoors as it was beyond chilly this morning, probably close to the freezing mark. But inside was fine. I think there was one other party seated when we arrived. Our server was Shoni and she was delightful and very engaging. We had a few questions about the menu which she happily answered. We quickly converged on the blue corn pancakes which ended up being an excellent choice. Shoni late shared with us that the Navajo use blue corn as part of their fertility rites and that the Hopi make a paper thin bread. She compared the bread to the thin layers of phyllo used in baklava.
We enjoyed our relaxed breakfast then went back to the cabin to finish packing. I filled the cooler to keep the rest of our beer at the proper temperature then loaded the car. We were checked out and on the road by 8:50, heading east back through Bluff. I fought the urge to stop at the Hen House, but we had already said our goodbyes last night, but I did blow the horn as we passed by. Not a lot of action there this morning by the lack of vehicles.
As mentioned, it was cool this morning and also overcast, but that made for easy driving conditions as we drove north on route 191. Considering my track record so far this trip, I typed Hovenweep National Monument into the GPS and let Baby be the navigator. Just before we reached White Mesa we turned east onto route 262 marking the start of exploration of new territory for us for the day. Good thing that I relied on the GPS. Even though most of the trip is fairly straight forward, there were several quick turns in close succession as we got closer to our destination. The route did have pretty clear signage. Still better safe than sorry.
This was a very nice drive through very scenic territory for most of the route although not as pretty as along 191. A very overcast morning which actually made for better driving conditions as we were heading due east and right in to the morning sun. We did have a few critter sightings along the way. Not long after turning onto 262, we saw a small herd of burros, a couple grey ones and the rest were dark brown, including a foal or two. There were also a few horses along the road as well which we speculated were also wild but no way to tell other than there were no apparent fences.
The initial part of the drive was through the canyons and valleys but we soon climbed up to flat high ground. Even though sky was cloudy there was still good visibility and on this flat expanse we could see for miles. There were two clusters of mountain peaks off in the distance, one sort of southeast and the other to the north. Once back home I studied Google maps a bit to try and figure out which mountains these were. I’m pretty sure that the ones we were seeing to the east/southeast were Ute Peak and the Black Mountains which were on the order of 25 miles off in the distance. I’m less sure about the ridge line to the north but those could be the mountains west of Monticello, again about 25 miles away. These ridges held our attention as we drove along, particularly the one to the east, as the weather conditions and the distant mountains were playing some sort of game that was causing interesting clouds to form right along the peaks. This was pretty to look at, actually fun to watch and the clouds changed over time, but too far away to get any kind of decent photo. But I had to resist the urge to stop along the road anyway. I guess Tommy is not the only one who gets “Kodak moments” while driving. I did finally relent as we neared Hovenweep and got a distant shot of the mountains and clouds off to the east.
The initial part of the drive was through the canyons and valleys but we soon climbed up to flat high ground. Even though sky was cloudy there was still good visibility and on this flat expanse we could see for miles. There were two clusters of mountain peaks off in the distance, one sort of southeast and the other to the north. Once back home I studied Google maps a bit to try and figure out which mountains these were. I’m pretty sure that the ones we were seeing to the east/southeast were Ute Peak and the Black Mountains which were on the order of 25 miles off in the distance. I’m less sure about the ridge line to the north but those could be the mountains west of Monticello, again about 25 miles away. These ridges held our attention as we drove along, particularly the one to the east, as the weather conditions and the distant mountains were playing some sort of game that was causing interesting clouds to form right along the peaks. This was pretty to look at, actually fun to watch and the clouds changed over time, but too far away to get any kind of decent photo. But I had to resist the urge to stop along the road anyway. I guess Tommy is not the only one who gets “Kodak moments” while driving. I did finally relent as we neared Hovenweep and got a distant shot of the mountains and clouds off to the east.
Not a lot of traffic along this section of road. I doubt that we passed five cars on the way to Hovenweep. Also not a lot in terms of towns. Actually nothing, other than a couple of small clusters of houses but no services that I recall other than a small store very near to the National Monument, and I think it was closed this morning. The drive time from Bluff was just under and hour; easy drive and Baby got us right to the front gate with no issues. We were walking into the visitor center at 9:45.
We started with a short reconnoiter of the visitor center and the hiking options. The Ranger we spoke to as well as the online information I had previously reviewed indicated that the area right around the visitor center was the most accessible and largest collection of ruins (there are four units making up the National Monument, but the road conditions to the other sites were a bit sketchy). Looks like the trail starting here at the visitor center will provide a nice tour of the ruins. The Ranger did point out that the trail does drop down into then back out of the canyon as part of the loop so that we might want to do that part first. Sounds like a plan. We went back to the car for our packs then hit the trail.
This was a very nice little walking tour around the canyon adjacent to the visitor center. Total length was just under 2 miles per the track on Ramblr. Most of the trail is right long the rim of the canyon, except for the drop in and out that the Ranger warned us about. That stretch is a bit steep and narrow in spots as we worked through a few tight turns and up and down some sections of stairs. It is less than 100 feet from the rim to the canyon floor, so nothing too strenuous. This section of the trail provided a nice view from the bottom of the canyon looking out over the yellow rabbit bush. Even more interesting were the boulders along the trail as we were climbing out of the canyon. They were covered with a variety of lichens, creating a mosaic of colors including mossy green to bright orange. Once up on the rim again the trail was flat and easy and became nice stroll past several ancient structures.
This is a fascinating little park and quite worth the visit. We were there almost exactly two hours from the time we pulled into the visitor center parking lot to when I stopped to take the passport photo of the park entrance sign as we were leaving. But the hike around Little Ruin Canyon was very educational and gave me a new perspective on the life of the people who built and lived in the rock structures that dotted the canyon rim.
The first thing that really struck me was the number of ruins such close proximity. Our past hikes to see ruins with Rick really just took us to one site, although Rick had mentioned that there were others ruins in the vicinity. But from any point on the rim of this little canyon there were several nice size dwellings in view showing that this was a community of folks living together. The trail guide lists nine specific ruin sites scattered through this section of the canyon, mostly on the rim but a few below the rim including down in the canyon. The structures in this canyon are named the Square Tower Group for the two-story tall tower built at the head of the canyon down on the floor.
We started with a short reconnoiter of the visitor center and the hiking options. The Ranger we spoke to as well as the online information I had previously reviewed indicated that the area right around the visitor center was the most accessible and largest collection of ruins (there are four units making up the National Monument, but the road conditions to the other sites were a bit sketchy). Looks like the trail starting here at the visitor center will provide a nice tour of the ruins. The Ranger did point out that the trail does drop down into then back out of the canyon as part of the loop so that we might want to do that part first. Sounds like a plan. We went back to the car for our packs then hit the trail.
This was a very nice little walking tour around the canyon adjacent to the visitor center. Total length was just under 2 miles per the track on Ramblr. Most of the trail is right long the rim of the canyon, except for the drop in and out that the Ranger warned us about. That stretch is a bit steep and narrow in spots as we worked through a few tight turns and up and down some sections of stairs. It is less than 100 feet from the rim to the canyon floor, so nothing too strenuous. This section of the trail provided a nice view from the bottom of the canyon looking out over the yellow rabbit bush. Even more interesting were the boulders along the trail as we were climbing out of the canyon. They were covered with a variety of lichens, creating a mosaic of colors including mossy green to bright orange. Once up on the rim again the trail was flat and easy and became nice stroll past several ancient structures.
This is a fascinating little park and quite worth the visit. We were there almost exactly two hours from the time we pulled into the visitor center parking lot to when I stopped to take the passport photo of the park entrance sign as we were leaving. But the hike around Little Ruin Canyon was very educational and gave me a new perspective on the life of the people who built and lived in the rock structures that dotted the canyon rim.
The first thing that really struck me was the number of ruins such close proximity. Our past hikes to see ruins with Rick really just took us to one site, although Rick had mentioned that there were others ruins in the vicinity. But from any point on the rim of this little canyon there were several nice size dwellings in view showing that this was a community of folks living together. The trail guide lists nine specific ruin sites scattered through this section of the canyon, mostly on the rim but a few below the rim including down in the canyon. The structures in this canyon are named the Square Tower Group for the two-story tall tower built at the head of the canyon down on the floor.
The structures here were built between 1230 and 1275, so about the same time as the large cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde. The people who lived here during that time were farmers, raising corn, beans squash and grain. They relied on the springs and creeks and used check dams to control and collect the vital water. The information on the trail guide indicated that there were probably 100 to 150 people living in this collection of structures. Lack of water was probably why they abandoned the site as there were severe droughts in the region in the late 1200s.
The trail affords very close access to the several ruin sites along the rim of the canyon. You cannot enter the ruins and most are cordoned off, but you do get right up close to these ancient structures. The main structures are listed on the trail guide. It seemed that the more we looked the more we saw as there are smaller structures like granaries tucked up under the canyon overhang around some of the main ruins. These storage rooms were vital to the folks who lived here for storing surplus crops during the good growing years so that they would have food for the inevitable lean years.
Stone towers are a signature of the ruins here in this canyon as they are part of many of the old structures including Twin Towers, Hovenweep Castle, Tower Point, Stronghold House and of course Square Tower down on the canyon floor. There are several theories on the purpose of the towers, and different structures could have been built for different purposes. The ideas range from living quarters, to observatories to communications (signal towers) to defense.
In addition to access to the ruins, the views from the trail both down into the canyon as well as looking at the surrounding landscape were excellent. Along the floor of the canyon there was a clump or two of bright green trees and shrubs indicating the location of water. In particular, the view from Tower Point looking down the canyon was particularly nice, with the ruins lining both sides along the rim, the bright green trees along the floor and Ute Peak off in the distance. Looking out toward the horizon, the distant mountains were still engaged with the low hanging clouds. Generally the sky stayed grey all morning although there was the occasional peek of blue. The lighting made it difficult to get good photos of the ruins or the landscape but there were still plenty of great images to be had.
The trail affords very close access to the several ruin sites along the rim of the canyon. You cannot enter the ruins and most are cordoned off, but you do get right up close to these ancient structures. The main structures are listed on the trail guide. It seemed that the more we looked the more we saw as there are smaller structures like granaries tucked up under the canyon overhang around some of the main ruins. These storage rooms were vital to the folks who lived here for storing surplus crops during the good growing years so that they would have food for the inevitable lean years.
Stone towers are a signature of the ruins here in this canyon as they are part of many of the old structures including Twin Towers, Hovenweep Castle, Tower Point, Stronghold House and of course Square Tower down on the canyon floor. There are several theories on the purpose of the towers, and different structures could have been built for different purposes. The ideas range from living quarters, to observatories to communications (signal towers) to defense.
In addition to access to the ruins, the views from the trail both down into the canyon as well as looking at the surrounding landscape were excellent. Along the floor of the canyon there was a clump or two of bright green trees and shrubs indicating the location of water. In particular, the view from Tower Point looking down the canyon was particularly nice, with the ruins lining both sides along the rim, the bright green trees along the floor and Ute Peak off in the distance. Looking out toward the horizon, the distant mountains were still engaged with the low hanging clouds. Generally the sky stayed grey all morning although there was the occasional peek of blue. The lighting made it difficult to get good photos of the ruins or the landscape but there were still plenty of great images to be had.
Not much in the way of critter sightings along the trail. We spotted a big, black beetle crossing the trail near Rim Rock Ruin and there were few birds flitting about but they were not very cooperative in terms of hold still for identification much less portraits. I only got one decent bird image that I’ll have to post to the BirdForum for an ID. I was thinking that it was a wren of some sort, perhaps a Rock Wren, and that is what the folks on the forum thought as well. It is nice to get one right every once in a while.
Hovenweep National Monumnent photo gallery.
After Hovenweep we continued the most direct route to Mesa Verde, not that it was in any way a straight line. We went northeast from the park into Colorado and through the Canyon of the Ancients then caught route 491 heading southeast to Cortez. There was a bicycle rally taking place along the road just outside of Hovenweep so we had to be mindful of those folks. They were scattered along the road for the several miles. We mostly passed then in ones and twos, and probably no more than 30 or so total.
Lynn and I were surprised by the agricultural nature of the area. Lots of farming and some cattle ranching as well. Huge hay operations all through the area, guessing alfalfa as it was very green and lush. I knew that we were driving along the plateau at about 5000 feet above sea level and that put me in mind of McClintock, an old John Wayne movie where he plays a cattle baron and makes the comment to a group of settlers looking to the farm the area that even the US government should know that you can’t farm at 6000 feet above sea level. I checked the quote when I got home. I thought he said 5000, but maybe that extra 1000 feet of elevation makes the difference. Whatever. Just one of those random thoughts that I had as we drove along.
We did not make any stops until we got to Cortez where we were looking to restock. I first tried Smitty’s on the west side of town as we came in on route 491, but it had a pitiful beer selection. So I just filled up the Rav4 at the adjacent gas station and rolled on into town. I had much better luck at the City Market for our breakfast and trail supplies (bagels, yogurt, fruit, snack bars, etc.). The major score was finding Second Nature trail mix. This is the brand that we discovered in Las Vegas while stocking up for our visit to Death Valley this past spring. After dropping the grub in the car, I walked next door to Liquid Assets. Clever name for a liquor store. It was only marginally better stocked that Smitty’s but I did find a couple interesting IPAs, so we’re good for a few more days (at least until we get to Moab). I had snagged a bag of peanut M&Ms for a quick snack during the short ride from Cortez to Mesa Verde.
Not that we were on a schedule for today, but we did arrive the visitor center at the entrance of Mesa Verde National Park with plenty of time to secure tickets for the Ranger-led tours, pulling into the parking lot right at 1:30. Nice visitor center, situated in a lovely setting at the north end of the park. A very handsome building. There was a very cool sculpture at the start of the walkway to the building. It took me a minute to figure out that it was one of the ancient Puebloans using carved out hand and toe holds to scale a sheer wall to gain access to his home. A very good image to start our exploration of the park. Once inside the visitor center, Lynn went off to the gift shop and I found the line for tickets. The good news was that there was no queue at all, so I just walked up to the counter and the extremely helpful Ranger, and older gentleman with an interesting accent (no idea where he was from, but to my untrained ear it had a Scandinavian ring to it…but I digress. I seem to do that a lot), hooked me up with tickets with the exact tickets I was looking for. Tomorrow we would explore Chapin Mesa including the tour or Balcony House at 0930 and then on Tuesday we would go to Wetherill Mesa for the tour of Long House also at 0930. I love it when a plan comes together! And the total cost for both tours was a whopping $16. At double the price it would still be a deal. Since there was no one waiting behind me, I asked a couple logistical questions regarding drive times in the park. The Ranger said that from the visitor center is was close to an hour to Far View Lodge, about 1:15 to the meeting point for the Balcony House tour on Chapin Mesa and 1:30 to Wetherill Mesa for Long House. Not insignificant drives, but since we will be staying at Far View Lodge we won’t be too far from either tour.
We looked around the exhibits and gift store a bit more. Lynn found some earrings that she linked and on the way out I spotted a nice National Parks Centennial hoodie. We opted not to buy anything at present; we can always stop on the way out. In fact we have to as I missed the entrance sign on the way into the park, so we’ll have to get the passport photo as we leave (we could have gotten it now as it would have been a very short backtrack but no sense in trying to pull a u-turn right here at the park entrance). We cruised on into the park, stopping at the entrance gate to show our park pass and collect the official map and newspaper.
We were on an uphill track as we headed into the park. Very lovely drive. The grey, mostly overcast sky we encountered at Hovenweep and for most of the drive was replaced with big, puffy white clouds with a background of bright blue. There were still some hints of rain out over the surrounding mesa tops and the distant mountains, but here the weather was improving. Well, except for the temperature. We were heading to higher ground so there was a definite chill in the air even now in the early afternoon.
The drive was not really what I was expecting. Come to think of it, I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t a canyon full of scrub oaks sporting a wide array of fall colors…yellow, gold, rust and splashes of red and green. The colors were past peak but it was still a nice scene. The other point that was very clear along the drive was that just about the entire area that we could see had been burnt out by forest fires. This was a theme that would repeat throughout our visit to Mesa Verde.
There was very little traffic on the road today as we’re past the high season for the park. We only made one stop on the way, at the Montezuma Valley overlook which provided a nice view into the valley outside the park. This also just happened to be the place that provided some interesting park history, specifically on the original road into Mesa Verde, an old abandoned portion of which was still visible clinging to the shear rock face adjacent to the view point That section of road was bypassed by the tunnels we had driven through just a little earlier. The road into the park was originally called Knife Edge and based on the narrow section visible here I say that was a very appropriate name!
Hovenweep National Monumnent photo gallery.
After Hovenweep we continued the most direct route to Mesa Verde, not that it was in any way a straight line. We went northeast from the park into Colorado and through the Canyon of the Ancients then caught route 491 heading southeast to Cortez. There was a bicycle rally taking place along the road just outside of Hovenweep so we had to be mindful of those folks. They were scattered along the road for the several miles. We mostly passed then in ones and twos, and probably no more than 30 or so total.
Lynn and I were surprised by the agricultural nature of the area. Lots of farming and some cattle ranching as well. Huge hay operations all through the area, guessing alfalfa as it was very green and lush. I knew that we were driving along the plateau at about 5000 feet above sea level and that put me in mind of McClintock, an old John Wayne movie where he plays a cattle baron and makes the comment to a group of settlers looking to the farm the area that even the US government should know that you can’t farm at 6000 feet above sea level. I checked the quote when I got home. I thought he said 5000, but maybe that extra 1000 feet of elevation makes the difference. Whatever. Just one of those random thoughts that I had as we drove along.
We did not make any stops until we got to Cortez where we were looking to restock. I first tried Smitty’s on the west side of town as we came in on route 491, but it had a pitiful beer selection. So I just filled up the Rav4 at the adjacent gas station and rolled on into town. I had much better luck at the City Market for our breakfast and trail supplies (bagels, yogurt, fruit, snack bars, etc.). The major score was finding Second Nature trail mix. This is the brand that we discovered in Las Vegas while stocking up for our visit to Death Valley this past spring. After dropping the grub in the car, I walked next door to Liquid Assets. Clever name for a liquor store. It was only marginally better stocked that Smitty’s but I did find a couple interesting IPAs, so we’re good for a few more days (at least until we get to Moab). I had snagged a bag of peanut M&Ms for a quick snack during the short ride from Cortez to Mesa Verde.
Not that we were on a schedule for today, but we did arrive the visitor center at the entrance of Mesa Verde National Park with plenty of time to secure tickets for the Ranger-led tours, pulling into the parking lot right at 1:30. Nice visitor center, situated in a lovely setting at the north end of the park. A very handsome building. There was a very cool sculpture at the start of the walkway to the building. It took me a minute to figure out that it was one of the ancient Puebloans using carved out hand and toe holds to scale a sheer wall to gain access to his home. A very good image to start our exploration of the park. Once inside the visitor center, Lynn went off to the gift shop and I found the line for tickets. The good news was that there was no queue at all, so I just walked up to the counter and the extremely helpful Ranger, and older gentleman with an interesting accent (no idea where he was from, but to my untrained ear it had a Scandinavian ring to it…but I digress. I seem to do that a lot), hooked me up with tickets with the exact tickets I was looking for. Tomorrow we would explore Chapin Mesa including the tour or Balcony House at 0930 and then on Tuesday we would go to Wetherill Mesa for the tour of Long House also at 0930. I love it when a plan comes together! And the total cost for both tours was a whopping $16. At double the price it would still be a deal. Since there was no one waiting behind me, I asked a couple logistical questions regarding drive times in the park. The Ranger said that from the visitor center is was close to an hour to Far View Lodge, about 1:15 to the meeting point for the Balcony House tour on Chapin Mesa and 1:30 to Wetherill Mesa for Long House. Not insignificant drives, but since we will be staying at Far View Lodge we won’t be too far from either tour.
We looked around the exhibits and gift store a bit more. Lynn found some earrings that she linked and on the way out I spotted a nice National Parks Centennial hoodie. We opted not to buy anything at present; we can always stop on the way out. In fact we have to as I missed the entrance sign on the way into the park, so we’ll have to get the passport photo as we leave (we could have gotten it now as it would have been a very short backtrack but no sense in trying to pull a u-turn right here at the park entrance). We cruised on into the park, stopping at the entrance gate to show our park pass and collect the official map and newspaper.
We were on an uphill track as we headed into the park. Very lovely drive. The grey, mostly overcast sky we encountered at Hovenweep and for most of the drive was replaced with big, puffy white clouds with a background of bright blue. There were still some hints of rain out over the surrounding mesa tops and the distant mountains, but here the weather was improving. Well, except for the temperature. We were heading to higher ground so there was a definite chill in the air even now in the early afternoon.
The drive was not really what I was expecting. Come to think of it, I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t a canyon full of scrub oaks sporting a wide array of fall colors…yellow, gold, rust and splashes of red and green. The colors were past peak but it was still a nice scene. The other point that was very clear along the drive was that just about the entire area that we could see had been burnt out by forest fires. This was a theme that would repeat throughout our visit to Mesa Verde.
There was very little traffic on the road today as we’re past the high season for the park. We only made one stop on the way, at the Montezuma Valley overlook which provided a nice view into the valley outside the park. This also just happened to be the place that provided some interesting park history, specifically on the original road into Mesa Verde, an old abandoned portion of which was still visible clinging to the shear rock face adjacent to the view point That section of road was bypassed by the tunnels we had driven through just a little earlier. The road into the park was originally called Knife Edge and based on the narrow section visible here I say that was a very appropriate name!
Our next stop was at Far View Lodge, our home for the next three nights. Not a lot of activity here at present. The lady at the front desk indicated that they were not sold out. We were quickly checked-in and off to our room in the building just past registration. There were no other cars parked at our building when we arrived. I think for a lot of folks, Mesa Verde is a one-night stay, so we were probably ahead of the folks checking in. And of course there were probably plenty of folks out exploring the park as well. We were unloaded and settled into our room (138) by about 2:45, sitting on our balcony overlooking the park, a nice porter in hand on this chilly afternoon. Perhaps that "mistake" 6-pack was not such a bad thing as the heavier beer just seemed to compliment the grey and very cool afternoon weather. A little coffee, a little smokey, but not overbearing.
Nice room with plenty of space but just a tad beat (it seems that the lodge is undergoing renovations). The balcony was the highlight of the room. I had made reservations for dinner in the Metate Room in the registration building for 5:00 so we had some time to relax and enjoy the view.
Far View is an appropriate name for the lodge as we could certainly see a “fer piece” as we say back home. The view from our balcony was outstanding. We were on the second (top) floor and in the row of buildings closest to the road so no obstructions from other lodge buildings. We watched the shadows from the clouds creep across the landscape. It was raining or snowing on the mountains off to the north but right around us there was plenty of blue coming through the cloud deck. Very peaceful. Other than a very few vehicles including the occasional RV rumbling past on the road below us it was calm and quiet. Ravens cruised past, scrub jays flitted about in the shrubs below us and crickets were chirping in the afternoon chill. There was a slight breeze which accentuated the chill in the air. I think the temperature was about 55 degrees F when we arrived, and it was certainly no warmer now and most likely a few degrees cooler. Lynn was wrapped in a blanket and my bare legs had goosebumps. Still a pleasant way to spend the afternoon.
Nice room with plenty of space but just a tad beat (it seems that the lodge is undergoing renovations). The balcony was the highlight of the room. I had made reservations for dinner in the Metate Room in the registration building for 5:00 so we had some time to relax and enjoy the view.
Far View is an appropriate name for the lodge as we could certainly see a “fer piece” as we say back home. The view from our balcony was outstanding. We were on the second (top) floor and in the row of buildings closest to the road so no obstructions from other lodge buildings. We watched the shadows from the clouds creep across the landscape. It was raining or snowing on the mountains off to the north but right around us there was plenty of blue coming through the cloud deck. Very peaceful. Other than a very few vehicles including the occasional RV rumbling past on the road below us it was calm and quiet. Ravens cruised past, scrub jays flitted about in the shrubs below us and crickets were chirping in the afternoon chill. There was a slight breeze which accentuated the chill in the air. I think the temperature was about 55 degrees F when we arrived, and it was certainly no warmer now and most likely a few degrees cooler. Lynn was wrapped in a blanket and my bare legs had goosebumps. Still a pleasant way to spend the afternoon.
Another nice thing about our room was the short walk back to the registration building where the restaurant and lounge are located. The Metate room is fairly large but this late in the season they were only serving in part of it, although there was a tour bus group arrayed around a couple of large table in a separate area. Lynn and I were seated right next to the large window so we got to continue our gazing out over the mesa top. A little more animal activity this evening with the ever present Ravens fussing about, a Mountain Bluebird out on the railing for the back steps and a couple little-bitty chipmunks scurrying about. They are tiny guys. It was raining off to the east. There was a rainbow or at least a rain “bar” of a vertical prism extending up into the low cloud deck. Obviously a great seat for dinner.
Dinner itself was pretty good as well. Service in the Metate Room was good especially considering that they were short staffed as this was the end of the tourist season in Mesa Verde. Our orders were taken quickly and our food came out in fairly short order. Not an extensive beer list but they had a couple of interesting options available. I tried the Modus Hoperandi from Ska Brewing out of Durango; always good to try the local brews. I liked it. As I posted on untapped.com, it had a nice aroma and an opaque copper color. Great taste with a little bite and a smooth finish. Very good overall. For dinner, I started with the corn and lobster bisque which was very good; I just cannot pass up lobster bisque. I had the salmon and Lynn the petite filet both of which were good but not great. But the prickly pear crème brule saved the day! That was an outstanding desert dessert.
Dinner itself was pretty good as well. Service in the Metate Room was good especially considering that they were short staffed as this was the end of the tourist season in Mesa Verde. Our orders were taken quickly and our food came out in fairly short order. Not an extensive beer list but they had a couple of interesting options available. I tried the Modus Hoperandi from Ska Brewing out of Durango; always good to try the local brews. I liked it. As I posted on untapped.com, it had a nice aroma and an opaque copper color. Great taste with a little bite and a smooth finish. Very good overall. For dinner, I started with the corn and lobster bisque which was very good; I just cannot pass up lobster bisque. I had the salmon and Lynn the petite filet both of which were good but not great. But the prickly pear crème brule saved the day! That was an outstanding desert dessert.
After dinner we enjoyed the evening during our short walk back to the room. We found the other end of the rainbow, also a short vertical leg that disappeared into the clouds. Not sure which end had the pot of gold but both end were too far way to go look. We made a quick drive over to the gift shop but there was nothing of interest there. They were also in shutdown mode as they close for the season in a couple of days. So we headed back to the room and enjoyed a spectacular sunset. Still raining to the east. We crashed early tonight, about 7:00, as we have another full day planned for tomorrow!
Day 7 – Monday, 10 October - Balcony House and Chapin Mesa. Early to bed but no too early to rise. I was finally up and about around 0500. The walls are thin so we can hear the neighbors so we are trying to be quiet and talking in whispers until the sun comes up. We could hear them singing some old jingle last night when we went to bed. Faintly so not enough to be annoying be clearly audible. I recognized the tune but just cannot place the song, even after trying to figure it out via Google. Fortunately they only sang one verse and called it a night. No serenade this morning. But it was a beautiful sunrise. With the big picture window and unobstructed view we could watch the show from the bed. Better than TV for sure! I went out on the balcony a couple times for photos. A brisk start to the day. The web indicated 36 F but it did not seem quite that cold. After checking the weather, I looked to see what the Herd was up to. Might as well take advantage of the wifi while the single is strong. The Herd is already busy on Facebook, posting pics and comments. Good fodder for the photobook. I still have not seen the end plate photo yet, but I will know it when I see it.
Day 7 – Monday, 10 October - Balcony House and Chapin Mesa. Early to bed but no too early to rise. I was finally up and about around 0500. The walls are thin so we can hear the neighbors so we are trying to be quiet and talking in whispers until the sun comes up. We could hear them singing some old jingle last night when we went to bed. Faintly so not enough to be annoying be clearly audible. I recognized the tune but just cannot place the song, even after trying to figure it out via Google. Fortunately they only sang one verse and called it a night. No serenade this morning. But it was a beautiful sunrise. With the big picture window and unobstructed view we could watch the show from the bed. Better than TV for sure! I went out on the balcony a couple times for photos. A brisk start to the day. The web indicated 36 F but it did not seem quite that cold. After checking the weather, I looked to see what the Herd was up to. Might as well take advantage of the wifi while the single is strong. The Herd is already busy on Facebook, posting pics and comments. Good fodder for the photobook. I still have not seen the end plate photo yet, but I will know it when I see it.
We had breakfast in the room as we have been doing all week. Bagel, yogurt and OJ; keep it light and simple. While we ate we discussed the plan for today. We’ll spend most of the day at Chapin Mesa with the main event being the Ranger-led tour of Balcony House. We would have also toured Cliff Palace but it was closed for preservation work during our visit. Sort of a bummer but we can still see those ruins from the viewpoint even if we can't tour them. Besides, I know the drill with National Parks, you have to be ready for some of the attractions to be unavailable due to construction, restoration, bears in the area, flooding, snow…Mother Nature is calling the shots many times.
The plan is to leave about 0830 for our 0930 tour of Balcony House. The drive should be less than 20 minutes from the lodge but why rush plus we will have some time to scope out the area. After the tour we’ll get some photos at Cliff Palace, check out the museum, hike to Petroglyph Point then a driving tour around the rest of the points-of-interest. That should fill our dance card for the day.
I went out on the balcony about 7:50 to take in the morning. While yesterday was cloudy and a little damp all day, today is opening with bright blue skies and high, wispy cirrus clouds. Visibility is forever. There is a bit of low haze off in the distance that gives the mountains on the horizon a yellow pall. I hear the critters in the shrubs below the balcony but nothing is peeking out. The coyotes are talking somewhere out yonder, very faint. A somewhat melancholy song, but it is a chorus so the family is working together. A few birds are singing but the only sighting so far was a flyby Stellar's Jay.
The plan is to leave about 0830 for our 0930 tour of Balcony House. The drive should be less than 20 minutes from the lodge but why rush plus we will have some time to scope out the area. After the tour we’ll get some photos at Cliff Palace, check out the museum, hike to Petroglyph Point then a driving tour around the rest of the points-of-interest. That should fill our dance card for the day.
I went out on the balcony about 7:50 to take in the morning. While yesterday was cloudy and a little damp all day, today is opening with bright blue skies and high, wispy cirrus clouds. Visibility is forever. There is a bit of low haze off in the distance that gives the mountains on the horizon a yellow pall. I hear the critters in the shrubs below the balcony but nothing is peeking out. The coyotes are talking somewhere out yonder, very faint. A somewhat melancholy song, but it is a chorus so the family is working together. A few birds are singing but the only sighting so far was a flyby Stellar's Jay.
Finally a cooperative bird sitting in the tree just below the balcony. A woodpecker of some sort with red on its head, but not a redheaded woodpecker. Sort of a little guy. Shoot, I did not grab the camera. He is sitting still in the pine tree, so maybe I have a chance. I crept back inside, grabbed the SX50 and snuck back out. He was still there. First really good bird images of the trip. Now I just have to figure out what he is. Once he flew off I sat back down. There's a rabbit. OK, the critters are starting to emerge for the day.
8:30 AM and now time to get on the road. Quick and easy drive from the lodge to the Chapin Mesa area. More fire damage all along the drive. There was signage indicating the names and year of the fire. There was a lot of recent damage. We were driving through the loop where the museum is located by 8:40, so still plenty of time before our tour. Hardly anyone around at present; I reckon it is still too early for most of the tourists. We continued over to the Cliff Palace Loop. Since the loop is one-way, we had to go by Cliff Palace before reaching Balcony House so we opted to stop and get some morning photos. No idea if the light is better now or in the afternoon, but if the morning shots are a bust we should have time for a return visit later today. There were a couple other cars in the lot but not much of a crowd down at the view point. Nice view across the canyon and of the huge cliff dwelling down below us, but it is in shadow for the most part right now so we’ll definitely have to come back this afternoon. Still and impressive sight and a truly remarkable structure.
After the short walk to the Cliff Palace view point and back, we reloaded into the Rav4 and continued around the loop to the Balcony House parking area. There were already a number of cars in the lot and many folks milling about the designated meeting location for the tour. This is obviously where the action is at this time of day. Folks were gathering their gear and trying to figure out just how many layers to wear. It was still cool, but there would be a bit of exercise coming up. Most everyone was just quietly chatting or enjoying the view from the edge of the meeting area. However, as is often the case, there was one person who was ruining the peace of the morning, Annoying-music Dude. He was parked in a spot right in front of the gathering spot, had the doors and hatch of his little blue car open and was blaring some oddball music while he was rummaging about in the hatch getting is act together for the tour. If he had just lowered the volume a bit (OK, a lot), there would have been no issue, but it was loud and his taste in music was….well, not shared by me at least. I resisted the temptation to ask him to tone down his tunes, realizing that he would be shutting it off shortly as the time for the hike was drawing near. Thankfully that was indeed the case.
There were about 50 folks gathered for the tour. Our guide arrived a few minutes before the scheduled start and chatted with folks in the group. At 9:30 she called us all together, introduced herself and laid out the ground rules and the plan for the tour. This was Ranger Beth, a tiny lady but don’t let her short stature fool you, as she was definitely in charge.
She reiterated that this was a strenuous, albeit short, hike and that anyone with health issues might want to make sure they were ready for it. For starters, we’re at 7000 feet above sea level, so there is a little less oxygen here. We will be going downhill to get to the ruin which means we have to come back up on the way out. There is a 100-step set of stairs on the way down, a 32-foot ladder to scale to get into the ruin, an 18-inch wide, 12-foot long tunnel to crawl through on the way out and another set of metal stairs for the climb back out. OK, that will be a good workout for this 90-minute tour. But there were no takers in terms of bailing on the tour.
Another main point was what to and not to bring on the tour. No food, gum or any drinks other than water were allowed on the hike. The issue is that any food left behind, even crumbs, and any sugary drinks will attract animals and the critters will then dig in the ruin sites and can cause serious damage. OK, that makes sense. She highly encouraged everyone to bring water which is always sound advice. We opted to leave our packs behind due to the tunnel. Besides this was really a short hike and the temperature was low. We did drink plenty of water before we started, so I think we’ll be fine. Turns out that Ranger Beth was serious about the no food rule. At our first stop along the trail so got after one of the tourists for having gum and made him dispose of it. Good for her. Additionally regarding conservation of the site, Ranger Beth told us not to touch anything and not to sit on or lean against the walls. The oils from our hands would degrade and discolor the sandstone blocks.
The short story on this is that it was great tour. Overall it was pretty easy to get around the ruin site, even the obstacles that Ranger Beth listed before the hike. The total distance is only about a half mile and the obstacles are easy to negotiate. Ranger Beth was an outstanding guide. She provided excellent information, but also asked great questions. Made us think about how the inhabitants of these sites used to live.
There were four stops during the tour, two before we entered the ruins and two in the ruin site. The first stop was just along the initial, flat portion of the trail where Ranger Beth gathered the group to talk about the crops that the inhabitants of the cliff dwellings grew. A particularly important staple was corn but it was a far cry from the corn we know today. She had a little display with a few samples of the corn grown here hundreds of years ago. The ears were tiny, just little nubbins.
After this stop, Ranger Beth led us on along the trail to the edge of the canyon and the start of the stairs that would lead us down to Balcony House. Obviously these stairs were not around 700 years ago and no evidence of hand holds have been found in this area, so this was not the route the Ancestral Pueblo people used to access the dwelling. She also asked us to keep an eye out for a key reason why this was a prime location for a cliff dwelling.
Down the stairs we clambered. The old iron stairs are built right into the shear face of the canyon, but they seem secure enough. We were in the shade for the most part, so the extra layer was a bonus. Once at the bottom of the stairs we walked a short distance along the face of the sandstone cliff. We were now probably 100 feet or so below the top of the mesa, maybe a little more, but still more than 600 feet above the canyon floor. There was a long, natural alcove in the cliff face that we walked past as we approached the ruin and here was the answer to the question that Ranger Beth had posed at the top of the stairs. There was a natural seep here, a water supply. And the location of the water supply so near to the dwelling was a critical factor not only for the ease of transportation but also for being able to defend the water supply.
8:30 AM and now time to get on the road. Quick and easy drive from the lodge to the Chapin Mesa area. More fire damage all along the drive. There was signage indicating the names and year of the fire. There was a lot of recent damage. We were driving through the loop where the museum is located by 8:40, so still plenty of time before our tour. Hardly anyone around at present; I reckon it is still too early for most of the tourists. We continued over to the Cliff Palace Loop. Since the loop is one-way, we had to go by Cliff Palace before reaching Balcony House so we opted to stop and get some morning photos. No idea if the light is better now or in the afternoon, but if the morning shots are a bust we should have time for a return visit later today. There were a couple other cars in the lot but not much of a crowd down at the view point. Nice view across the canyon and of the huge cliff dwelling down below us, but it is in shadow for the most part right now so we’ll definitely have to come back this afternoon. Still and impressive sight and a truly remarkable structure.
After the short walk to the Cliff Palace view point and back, we reloaded into the Rav4 and continued around the loop to the Balcony House parking area. There were already a number of cars in the lot and many folks milling about the designated meeting location for the tour. This is obviously where the action is at this time of day. Folks were gathering their gear and trying to figure out just how many layers to wear. It was still cool, but there would be a bit of exercise coming up. Most everyone was just quietly chatting or enjoying the view from the edge of the meeting area. However, as is often the case, there was one person who was ruining the peace of the morning, Annoying-music Dude. He was parked in a spot right in front of the gathering spot, had the doors and hatch of his little blue car open and was blaring some oddball music while he was rummaging about in the hatch getting is act together for the tour. If he had just lowered the volume a bit (OK, a lot), there would have been no issue, but it was loud and his taste in music was….well, not shared by me at least. I resisted the temptation to ask him to tone down his tunes, realizing that he would be shutting it off shortly as the time for the hike was drawing near. Thankfully that was indeed the case.
There were about 50 folks gathered for the tour. Our guide arrived a few minutes before the scheduled start and chatted with folks in the group. At 9:30 she called us all together, introduced herself and laid out the ground rules and the plan for the tour. This was Ranger Beth, a tiny lady but don’t let her short stature fool you, as she was definitely in charge.
She reiterated that this was a strenuous, albeit short, hike and that anyone with health issues might want to make sure they were ready for it. For starters, we’re at 7000 feet above sea level, so there is a little less oxygen here. We will be going downhill to get to the ruin which means we have to come back up on the way out. There is a 100-step set of stairs on the way down, a 32-foot ladder to scale to get into the ruin, an 18-inch wide, 12-foot long tunnel to crawl through on the way out and another set of metal stairs for the climb back out. OK, that will be a good workout for this 90-minute tour. But there were no takers in terms of bailing on the tour.
Another main point was what to and not to bring on the tour. No food, gum or any drinks other than water were allowed on the hike. The issue is that any food left behind, even crumbs, and any sugary drinks will attract animals and the critters will then dig in the ruin sites and can cause serious damage. OK, that makes sense. She highly encouraged everyone to bring water which is always sound advice. We opted to leave our packs behind due to the tunnel. Besides this was really a short hike and the temperature was low. We did drink plenty of water before we started, so I think we’ll be fine. Turns out that Ranger Beth was serious about the no food rule. At our first stop along the trail so got after one of the tourists for having gum and made him dispose of it. Good for her. Additionally regarding conservation of the site, Ranger Beth told us not to touch anything and not to sit on or lean against the walls. The oils from our hands would degrade and discolor the sandstone blocks.
The short story on this is that it was great tour. Overall it was pretty easy to get around the ruin site, even the obstacles that Ranger Beth listed before the hike. The total distance is only about a half mile and the obstacles are easy to negotiate. Ranger Beth was an outstanding guide. She provided excellent information, but also asked great questions. Made us think about how the inhabitants of these sites used to live.
There were four stops during the tour, two before we entered the ruins and two in the ruin site. The first stop was just along the initial, flat portion of the trail where Ranger Beth gathered the group to talk about the crops that the inhabitants of the cliff dwellings grew. A particularly important staple was corn but it was a far cry from the corn we know today. She had a little display with a few samples of the corn grown here hundreds of years ago. The ears were tiny, just little nubbins.
After this stop, Ranger Beth led us on along the trail to the edge of the canyon and the start of the stairs that would lead us down to Balcony House. Obviously these stairs were not around 700 years ago and no evidence of hand holds have been found in this area, so this was not the route the Ancestral Pueblo people used to access the dwelling. She also asked us to keep an eye out for a key reason why this was a prime location for a cliff dwelling.
Down the stairs we clambered. The old iron stairs are built right into the shear face of the canyon, but they seem secure enough. We were in the shade for the most part, so the extra layer was a bonus. Once at the bottom of the stairs we walked a short distance along the face of the sandstone cliff. We were now probably 100 feet or so below the top of the mesa, maybe a little more, but still more than 600 feet above the canyon floor. There was a long, natural alcove in the cliff face that we walked past as we approached the ruin and here was the answer to the question that Ranger Beth had posed at the top of the stairs. There was a natural seep here, a water supply. And the location of the water supply so near to the dwelling was a critical factor not only for the ease of transportation but also for being able to defend the water supply.
Next we get to enter the actual cliff dwelling. But to get into the ruin we had to scale a 32-foot ladder. This is no standard ladder. It was a very sturdy ladder made of stout logs probably four or five inches in diameter. It was also a “two-lane” highway as it was wide enough for at least two people to climb side-by-side. Reminded me of the Urik-hai scaling the ladders as they were storming fortress at Helm’s Deep in The Two Towers. The ladder was firmly attached to the wall so it was not going anywhere, plus is was not that steep, so easy to climb. Once we were up the ladder, we continued on up into the cliff dwellings, walking through a couple rooms and up and interior set of steps until we exited into an open plaza, the balcony from which Balcony House got its name. Ranger Beth quickly rejoined the group and continued the tour. She pointed out that the way we entered was not how the ancient inhabitants would have accessed the dwelling, although I reckon then would have had some way to get to their water source at the seep. The only known way in and out of Balcony House was at the other end of the site and that we would exit via that route.
The area of the ruin that we were now standing in was the balcony and probably used as a gathering place for the community who lived here. There were several rooms of the structure that opened out onto this open balcony. Ranger Beth also pointed out seating areas all around the larger open area. The view here out over the canyon was beautiful. I always wondered if the ancient builders of these structures had an eye for the aesthetics when picking a home site as so many of the ruins we have visited do have lovely vistas from their front door, or in this case front porch.
The area of the ruin that we were now standing in was the balcony and probably used as a gathering place for the community who lived here. There were several rooms of the structure that opened out onto this open balcony. Ranger Beth also pointed out seating areas all around the larger open area. The view here out over the canyon was beautiful. I always wondered if the ancient builders of these structures had an eye for the aesthetics when picking a home site as so many of the ruins we have visited do have lovely vistas from their front door, or in this case front porch.
Throughout the tour, Ranger Beth provided us was a lot of interesting detail about Balcony House and the people who built it and lived here. There are 40 rooms in the dwelling, so it is considered to be of medium size. Only ten sites in the park have more rooms than Balcony House. There are also two kivas here (we'll get to those shortly). The site faces east so Balcony House would have been cold in the winter, so not an ideal location. Ranger Beth pointed out some of the exposed logs used in the construction and stated that one log was dated to 1278, so the dwelling was built not long before the Mesa Verde people migrated out of the area.
From the balcony area we went to the kiva plaza. To get there, we had to climb up some steps, through couple more rooms then exit out on the plaza. Before we started, Ranger Beth said that this was the one place where we could touch the old stones in order to steady ourselves as we made the climb. But she also pointed out where the rocks had been discolored from the oils from the hands of all those tourists who had come before us. Yep, there were a few patches of dark stains on the rocks. This is reason to the “keep your hands to yourself” rule. She also pointed out some etchings in the stone adjacent to the steps. One of the tourists in the group, a young lady who I am guessing may have worked in the park, perhaps as an intern, and was probably an archeology student, pointed out some turkey prints etched in the stone as well. Ranger Beth stepped over for a closer look. She said she had never noticed those before. Even the experts can learn something new during the tour.
Getting a good photo of the ruins was easier than I thought it might be given the tight quarters and the number of folks on the tour. But there was one fellow, Photo Guy, who was lugging a bag of gear and lagging behind trying to get a few shots. The problem with him was that he was always right in the middle of what I was trying to shoot. I just had to work around him. But he was a good reminder for me of what I wanted to try and avoid doing when I’m taking pictures.
The last stop was at the kiva plaza. There were two kivas in the plaza. Today the kivas was open pits below the surface of the plaza, but back in the day, these would have had roofs covering the below surface level room so that the entire plaza area would have been open for folks to use and kids to run around. Ranger Beth used the well preserved rock structure of the kivas to describe how they were built and how they operate. It is believed that the kivas were used in the religious rites of the Ancestral Pueblo people. There was actually a good bit of engineering that went into the construction of the kivas. There were vents built into each kiva to allow for airflow as well as a deflector on the floor of the kiva to help keep the air moving once the convective currents were established. The downside was that it took hours to warm the interior of the kiva and to get the smoke out after the fire was started in the first pit near the center of the kiva floor, but once established a small fire could heat the kiva. The pillars along the walls of the kiva were the supports for the roof structure. Tree branches were arrayed around the edge of the kiva on these pillars in a hexagonal shape (not sure on the number of sides, but six looks to fit), and successive smaller frames were built, each clocked from the one below, until a domed structure covered the room of the kiva. The roof structure was then covered with stones and/or mortar to form the floor of the plaza.
From the balcony area we went to the kiva plaza. To get there, we had to climb up some steps, through couple more rooms then exit out on the plaza. Before we started, Ranger Beth said that this was the one place where we could touch the old stones in order to steady ourselves as we made the climb. But she also pointed out where the rocks had been discolored from the oils from the hands of all those tourists who had come before us. Yep, there were a few patches of dark stains on the rocks. This is reason to the “keep your hands to yourself” rule. She also pointed out some etchings in the stone adjacent to the steps. One of the tourists in the group, a young lady who I am guessing may have worked in the park, perhaps as an intern, and was probably an archeology student, pointed out some turkey prints etched in the stone as well. Ranger Beth stepped over for a closer look. She said she had never noticed those before. Even the experts can learn something new during the tour.
Getting a good photo of the ruins was easier than I thought it might be given the tight quarters and the number of folks on the tour. But there was one fellow, Photo Guy, who was lugging a bag of gear and lagging behind trying to get a few shots. The problem with him was that he was always right in the middle of what I was trying to shoot. I just had to work around him. But he was a good reminder for me of what I wanted to try and avoid doing when I’m taking pictures.
The last stop was at the kiva plaza. There were two kivas in the plaza. Today the kivas was open pits below the surface of the plaza, but back in the day, these would have had roofs covering the below surface level room so that the entire plaza area would have been open for folks to use and kids to run around. Ranger Beth used the well preserved rock structure of the kivas to describe how they were built and how they operate. It is believed that the kivas were used in the religious rites of the Ancestral Pueblo people. There was actually a good bit of engineering that went into the construction of the kivas. There were vents built into each kiva to allow for airflow as well as a deflector on the floor of the kiva to help keep the air moving once the convective currents were established. The downside was that it took hours to warm the interior of the kiva and to get the smoke out after the fire was started in the first pit near the center of the kiva floor, but once established a small fire could heat the kiva. The pillars along the walls of the kiva were the supports for the roof structure. Tree branches were arrayed around the edge of the kiva on these pillars in a hexagonal shape (not sure on the number of sides, but six looks to fit), and successive smaller frames were built, each clocked from the one below, until a domed structure covered the room of the kiva. The roof structure was then covered with stones and/or mortar to form the floor of the plaza.
Ranger Beth pointed out a few more features of Balcony House, including one room that had designed painted on an interior wall. There did not seem to be a lot of examples of artwork in the area. In fact, painting in the ruins and rock art was not common at Mesa Verde. There are only two known rock art panels in the park, one at Petroglyph Point which is accessible to the public and one at Battleship Rock which is a closed site.
She also talked about the stature of the inhabitants of Balcony House. As mentioned, Ranger Beth was a diminutive lady. She said she stood about 4 foot 5 inches tall, she said that the men who lived in the cliff dwellings were about her height and the women a bit shorter. She would have been tall for the time. That makes sense as most of the folks on the tour had to stoop to get through the rooms at the ruin site. She mentioned that the largest cliff dwellings, such as Cliff Palace probably houses up to 150 people. I think she said that the total population of Mesa Verde was about 5,000 at its peak and that for the entire region there were perhaps as many as 50,000 inhabitants.
After the discussion here in the plaza Ranger Beth described the path to exit Balcony House. To get out we had to crawl through a narrow tunnel. The tunnel was 12 feet long and 18-inches wide at the start although it opened up a bit in the middle. This was part of the security system for Balcony House as it limited the number of people who could gain access at one time and certainly made for a very defensible position. I reckon if someone you did not like was trying to get into your house through such a restrictive tunnel it would be fairly easy to just give them a whack on the noggin with a rock or big stick when they tried to exit the narrow tunnel. The tunnel was sort of a bottle neck for leaving but we took advantage of the time to enjoy the view out over Soda Canyon and to get a few more photos from the ruins with a few less tourists. As we were leaving, Ranger Beth told us to look for the series of toe-holds in a cleft of the cliff, was believed to be the only entry and exit route for the cliff dwellers, which added to the overall security of the small village.
One last set of metal stairs and we were back on top of the mesa, at the end of the parking lot. We walked back up to where we had left the Rav4, arriving at our little blue rental at 10:55, so just short of the 90 minutes advertised for the tour. Here are the links to the photos from our tour of Balcony House as well as the ramblr track of the short excursion.
So it’s not even noon and we’ve completed a wonderful Ranger-guided tour through a fascinating cliff dwelling. Great start to the day and we still have plenty of daylight. While the jaunt through Balcony House did give us a little exercise, it was certainly not a hike. In fact, thus far this has not been a hike intensive trip. We have spent a lot of time out and about seeing many wonderful natural and historical wonders but many of those sights and sites were at the end of a short walk or even by driving. Really the trek out to the Citadel was the only hike that we have been on so far and that was just a little over 4 miles. So I wanted to try and get in a little more time on the trails over the next few days. Tomorrow looks promising with the Long House tour and time on Wetherill Mesa, plus we’ll get in a hike at Arches later, but what to do today. The only nearby and interesting option appears to be Petroglyph Point. Hey, we like rock art so that sounds like a winner. We tossed our gear into the little truck and headed back around Chapin Mesa to the museum area and the trailhead above Spruce Tree House.
There was a little more activity around the museum loop but it was still not packed. I guess this is considered to be late season, if not off-season, for Mesa Verde, so the crowds in general have been light. That’s a plus for us. Since we wanted to check out the café and gift shop later, I just parked near there and we walked back to the museum and trailhead. That just gives us a little bonus distance for our upcoming hike. We walked around the side of the museum to the Spruce Tree House view point and trailhead to start the next activity for the day.
She also talked about the stature of the inhabitants of Balcony House. As mentioned, Ranger Beth was a diminutive lady. She said she stood about 4 foot 5 inches tall, she said that the men who lived in the cliff dwellings were about her height and the women a bit shorter. She would have been tall for the time. That makes sense as most of the folks on the tour had to stoop to get through the rooms at the ruin site. She mentioned that the largest cliff dwellings, such as Cliff Palace probably houses up to 150 people. I think she said that the total population of Mesa Verde was about 5,000 at its peak and that for the entire region there were perhaps as many as 50,000 inhabitants.
After the discussion here in the plaza Ranger Beth described the path to exit Balcony House. To get out we had to crawl through a narrow tunnel. The tunnel was 12 feet long and 18-inches wide at the start although it opened up a bit in the middle. This was part of the security system for Balcony House as it limited the number of people who could gain access at one time and certainly made for a very defensible position. I reckon if someone you did not like was trying to get into your house through such a restrictive tunnel it would be fairly easy to just give them a whack on the noggin with a rock or big stick when they tried to exit the narrow tunnel. The tunnel was sort of a bottle neck for leaving but we took advantage of the time to enjoy the view out over Soda Canyon and to get a few more photos from the ruins with a few less tourists. As we were leaving, Ranger Beth told us to look for the series of toe-holds in a cleft of the cliff, was believed to be the only entry and exit route for the cliff dwellers, which added to the overall security of the small village.
One last set of metal stairs and we were back on top of the mesa, at the end of the parking lot. We walked back up to where we had left the Rav4, arriving at our little blue rental at 10:55, so just short of the 90 minutes advertised for the tour. Here are the links to the photos from our tour of Balcony House as well as the ramblr track of the short excursion.
So it’s not even noon and we’ve completed a wonderful Ranger-guided tour through a fascinating cliff dwelling. Great start to the day and we still have plenty of daylight. While the jaunt through Balcony House did give us a little exercise, it was certainly not a hike. In fact, thus far this has not been a hike intensive trip. We have spent a lot of time out and about seeing many wonderful natural and historical wonders but many of those sights and sites were at the end of a short walk or even by driving. Really the trek out to the Citadel was the only hike that we have been on so far and that was just a little over 4 miles. So I wanted to try and get in a little more time on the trails over the next few days. Tomorrow looks promising with the Long House tour and time on Wetherill Mesa, plus we’ll get in a hike at Arches later, but what to do today. The only nearby and interesting option appears to be Petroglyph Point. Hey, we like rock art so that sounds like a winner. We tossed our gear into the little truck and headed back around Chapin Mesa to the museum area and the trailhead above Spruce Tree House.
There was a little more activity around the museum loop but it was still not packed. I guess this is considered to be late season, if not off-season, for Mesa Verde, so the crowds in general have been light. That’s a plus for us. Since we wanted to check out the café and gift shop later, I just parked near there and we walked back to the museum and trailhead. That just gives us a little bonus distance for our upcoming hike. We walked around the side of the museum to the Spruce Tree House view point and trailhead to start the next activity for the day.
Great views of Spruce Tree house from across the canyon. This is another very large cliff dwelling, the third largest in the park behind Cliff Palace and Long House. The structure has 130 rooms and eight kivas and housed probably 60 to 80 folks. Spruce Tree house was built between A.D. 1211 and 1278. The natural alcove in which Spruce House is situated makes for an excellent shelter. Just to provide a frame of reference for the size of the dwelling in the photo, the alcove is 216 feet wide and 89 feet deep along the largest dimensions. But this view from across the canyon was the closest we were going to get as no close in exploration was allowed. The site is closed at present (and for the foreseeable future according to the signage) due to the risk of rock falls. Seems that a crack has formed in the sandstone strata in the ceiling of the alcove housing this beautiful cliff dwelling. At some point a rather sizable slab of rock may come crashing down and the Park Service would prefer that tourists not get squished, thus the closure. We paused for a moment to take it all in, then hit the trail.
We went counterclockwise from the trailhead along the trail to Petroglyph Point. The trail initially dips down into and across Spruce Canyon before climbing back up the far wall. Once back up higher on the canyon wall we could see the park buildings we had passed earlier as well as hikers on another trail back across the narrow canyon. Going this direction, the outbound trail hugs the cliff face and the return hike is across the top of the mesa. The trail has a totally different character along the outbound and return legs. For our route, the outbound portion of the trail is the type of trail that you have to pay attention to your feet due to the uneven ground and the rocks and roots that were trying to grab our feet. Plenty of ups and downs, mostly via stone steps and many turns as the trail followed the curving contours of the canyon wall. There were a few very minor scrambles and some narrow spots to squeeze through. Nothing major or really difficult, but it did get my attention. But all along this section of the trail were lovely views across and into the adjacent canyon. The vistas were quite nice. The sky was blue with a few puffy, white clouds. As we continued along the fairly rugged trail, the canyon to our right got wider as smaller side canyons merged into larger trenches. I think we were looking out at the area where Spruce Canyon joins the larger Navajo Canyon as we neared the far point of the trail. We could easily see the bottom of the canyon as well as across to the opposite side and the mesa top beyond. The variety of colors and textures as we moved along the edge of the successively widening canyons were fascinating. The varnish-streaked sandstone was complimented by the dark green of the evergreens. There were splashes of yellow and orange splattered about the canyon walls as well from the fall hues of the scrub oaks. In the bottom of the canyons, where the moisture collects were scattered area of lush green vegetation. We were looking for ruins along the far cliff wall, but did not see anything. I’m sure there must have been some hiding in the rocks and alcoves since there are so many sites dotting the park. We did spy some very interesting dome shaped rocks along the edge of the far canyon wall. I zoomed in on these with the SX50 just to get a better look. They were just blobs of sandstone, not unlike other rounded formations that we have seen throughout the desert southwest, but the shape and lighting at this time of day made them look like huge mushrooms or even beach umbrellas. All we needed was the ocean and a margarita.
We went counterclockwise from the trailhead along the trail to Petroglyph Point. The trail initially dips down into and across Spruce Canyon before climbing back up the far wall. Once back up higher on the canyon wall we could see the park buildings we had passed earlier as well as hikers on another trail back across the narrow canyon. Going this direction, the outbound trail hugs the cliff face and the return hike is across the top of the mesa. The trail has a totally different character along the outbound and return legs. For our route, the outbound portion of the trail is the type of trail that you have to pay attention to your feet due to the uneven ground and the rocks and roots that were trying to grab our feet. Plenty of ups and downs, mostly via stone steps and many turns as the trail followed the curving contours of the canyon wall. There were a few very minor scrambles and some narrow spots to squeeze through. Nothing major or really difficult, but it did get my attention. But all along this section of the trail were lovely views across and into the adjacent canyon. The vistas were quite nice. The sky was blue with a few puffy, white clouds. As we continued along the fairly rugged trail, the canyon to our right got wider as smaller side canyons merged into larger trenches. I think we were looking out at the area where Spruce Canyon joins the larger Navajo Canyon as we neared the far point of the trail. We could easily see the bottom of the canyon as well as across to the opposite side and the mesa top beyond. The variety of colors and textures as we moved along the edge of the successively widening canyons were fascinating. The varnish-streaked sandstone was complimented by the dark green of the evergreens. There were splashes of yellow and orange splattered about the canyon walls as well from the fall hues of the scrub oaks. In the bottom of the canyons, where the moisture collects were scattered area of lush green vegetation. We were looking for ruins along the far cliff wall, but did not see anything. I’m sure there must have been some hiding in the rocks and alcoves since there are so many sites dotting the park. We did spy some very interesting dome shaped rocks along the edge of the far canyon wall. I zoomed in on these with the SX50 just to get a better look. They were just blobs of sandstone, not unlike other rounded formations that we have seen throughout the desert southwest, but the shape and lighting at this time of day made them look like huge mushrooms or even beach umbrellas. All we needed was the ocean and a margarita.
While we truly enjoyed the big views of the canyon there were also many interesting sights right along the trail as we made our way to Petroglyph Point. We were below the edge of the mesa so marching through the rock formations along the steep slope. There were a few interesting collections of sandstone and the grey trunks of long dead trees. We also saw a few small scale natural rock art formations, tiny little arches, intricately carved into the rock wall right along the trail. There were other example of rock art along the trail as few folks were being creative with cairns, not that any markers were needed to show the way; the trail was well defined and there was really nowhere else to go but along the trail. But the little sculptures of rock and branches were sort of fun to find. There were a few sprigs of color from late season flowers and the autumn wardrobe of the oaks. These smaller scale sightings mixed in nicely with the large rock formations as well as the wide stretches of sandstone cliff face with the wide streaks of dark varnish. There was at least one ruin site along the trail (there were probably others that we did not see). This was a small site tucked up under a sizable sandstone overhang. Not much left of this little homestead, basically just the outline of a couple rooms and the remains of a low wall or two. But it was secluded and sheltered, so I’m guessing a decent location for a small family.
There was not a lot of traffic on the trail this morning, but the folks we did meet were friendly and talkative. Lynn was worried that we would miss the panel, and at one point thought that there was no panel, that the trail was just called Petroglyph Point. I reminded her that Ranger Beth had told us that this was the largest panel in the park (turns out there are only two known panels in Mesa Verde, the other at Battleship Rock and is not open to visitors). We did finally find the panel. Hard to miss as it is a large set of etchings. Plus when we arrived there were three ladies there studying the cravings in the stone cliff face. They had a printed guide that provided interpretations of the symbols on the panel. They were nice enough to share so I took a couple photos of their guide for future study so now there is no need to get a paper copy. Always good to save a tree.
I always find these sites to be so interesting. What were these ancient artists and/or story tellers trying to say? The interpretations in the pamphlet the three ladies had all seemed to be reasonable. Of course the interpretations of the petroglyphs are not an exact science. No one knows the true meaning of the images except for the artists who created them, and they are not telling. The image below is my reasonable facsimile of the pamphlet. But I replaced the sketch with a panoramic image of the panel that I create from a couple of Lynn’s photos and added the text from the guide.
I always find these sites to be so interesting. What were these ancient artists and/or story tellers trying to say? The interpretations in the pamphlet the three ladies had all seemed to be reasonable. Of course the interpretations of the petroglyphs are not an exact science. No one knows the true meaning of the images except for the artists who created them, and they are not telling. The image below is my reasonable facsimile of the pamphlet. But I replaced the sketch with a panoramic image of the panel that I create from a couple of Lynn’s photos and added the text from the guide.
We studied the panel for a while longer. The three ladies went along their way; they came out the easy way along the mesa top and were returning the same way. As we were leaving another couple arrived at the panel. We chatted with them briefly then continued along our hike. I heard something rustling in the scrub oak just below the trail at the panel. A little bird of some sort. It was trying to be a gone bird, but instead of leaving it was flitting about in the shrubs. I finally got a few non-blurry images of the tiny critter, certainly good enough for an identification. It was, but I had to rely in the experts on birdforum.com for help after the trip. This little gut was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Very cute.
After the panel, the trail climbs abruptly to the top of the mesa. As we started our climb up this short but very steep section, we paused at a little open vantage point to get one last view out over the canyon. Once at the mesa top, the trail makes for an easy, flay hike back to the museum. We lost the views of the canyon as we walked along the shaded trail as we were well away from the edge (it looked like there were some social trails leading to the edge for the views but we skipped those). We did spot a few birds along this section, but they were mostly gone birds. I managed a few photos and we got a few good looks and descriptions (one of these was a Townsend’s Solitaire). There were a few of the ever present Scrub Jays flitting about in the pines as we neared the end of the hike. It was about at this point that the trail crosses the head of the canyon. There were a few small ruins along the edge as well as more nice views of Spruce Tree House as we completed the final section of the trail.
Here are the related links to the Petroglyph Point hike: photo gallery and Ramblr track.
After the hike we toured through the museum. We paused briefly outside when we noticed that Lynn had picked up a hitchhiker. There was a good size beetle riding along on her camera. It was a pretty little critter. I later found a bug book in the gift shop and identified it as a Leaf-footed bug. We found a nice bush onto which we deposited the little guy before we went into the museum. It was a bit crowded in the museum and sort hard to see some of the exhibits so we just made a quick walk-through. I did see the display with taxidermed birds. Hey, there’s the woodpecker I saw this morning. Red-naped Sapsucker. OK, I’ll add that to the critter list. We decided to save the rest of the museum exploration for another day and headed back to the truck.
Here are the related links to the Petroglyph Point hike: photo gallery and Ramblr track.
After the hike we toured through the museum. We paused briefly outside when we noticed that Lynn had picked up a hitchhiker. There was a good size beetle riding along on her camera. It was a pretty little critter. I later found a bug book in the gift shop and identified it as a Leaf-footed bug. We found a nice bush onto which we deposited the little guy before we went into the museum. It was a bit crowded in the museum and sort hard to see some of the exhibits so we just made a quick walk-through. I did see the display with taxidermed birds. Hey, there’s the woodpecker I saw this morning. Red-naped Sapsucker. OK, I’ll add that to the critter list. We decided to save the rest of the museum exploration for another day and headed back to the truck.
After we dropped off our packs, we hit the gift store at Spruce Tree Café. We thought about grabbing a bite to eat in the café but there was nothing of interest; pickings were slim as this was at the very end of the season. Instead we sat in the hatch of the Rav4 and had a Sweet Tango apple and split a lemon Luna bar. Again we got a little philosophy from our trail snacks.The words of wisdom on the wrapper were "Be with someone who makes you happy" only "with" was struck out. Sort of an interesting little phrase and I reckon it makes good sense with or without the "with."
It was about 2:00 by the time we finished our snack. We headed off to drive the Mesa Top Loop Road and see some of the historical sites here on Chapin Mesa. We stopped at several, but not all of the points-of-interest around the loop:
- Our first stop was at the Navajo Canyon View. Good place to start as it tied back to the views that we had when we were out on the Petroglyph Point trail. Nice view out across the canyon. We spotted a large alcove across the way with a multi-room ruin. Not much left but it was obviously used by the ancient inhabitants.
- From the view point we were able to walk to the next site, overlook for Square Tower House. This spectacular cliff dwelling has at least 60 rooms and eight kivas. The tower for which the site is named is the tallest structure in the park. One of the signs at the view point talked about the preservation efforts. The site was rediscovered by rancher Richard Wetherill in 1888 and the earliest preservation work occurred in 1919, when rubble and debris were removed and necessary repairs were made. The preservations face many of the same challenges as the original builders. Cliff dwellings are constructed of native stone and earth often on unstable foundations, and are vulnerable to weathering, soil erosions and rock fall from the alcove ceiling. Ancestral Pueblo people had to work constantly to maintain their homes. The National Park Service continues this work today to protect these sites for the future. Square Tower House has undergone stabilization treatments nearly every decade since the 1930s. Despite this work, an estimated ninety percent of the ruin site is original.
- There were several pit house sites around the loop, but we only stopped at one. I guess we were going by the old adage “if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.” We also knew that there would be more of these sites to see when we explored Wetherill Mesa tomorrow. The pit houses were where the ancient folks lived before they moved over the edge of the mesa into the cliff dwellings. The pit houses were dug into the ground and had a roof covering the pit. All that remains today is the pit. Metal awnings have been installed over these sites to protect the remains of the ancient houses. I think we stopped at the last pit house site along the loop. We also spotted a few wild turkeys right along the road near the pit houses. Sort of appropriate, I reckon, as the ancient inhabitants used to keep turkeys.
- Sun Point View was a very cool vista point. The view here is out over Cliff Canyon and one of the smaller side canyons. There was a tour bus load of folks there when we arrived, but since this is a rather large viewing area there was plenty of room for everyone. The bonus was that we got to listen to the tour guide’s spiel about the view and the ruins sites. Turns out that there are 12 ruins along the opposite canyon wall, although one is not visible. Lynn and I spent a while just taking in the view and trying to find all of the ruin sites. Some of these are quite large, including a long range view of Cliff Palace.
- We stopped at one of following pullouts to get a closer view of some of the site we spied from Sun Point View and then continued on around the loop to Sun Temple.
- We could see the massive structure of Sun Temple from the Sun Point View. Once at the site, we wandered about inspecting the very impressive construction. While we could not enter the site, we could see inside through a windows as well as from the small knoll adjacent to the site. Signage at the structure provided some insight: “From above, the D-shaped symmetry is striking, especially the twin kivas. Unlike its contemporaries – the haphazard cliff houses – Sun Temple appear to follow a preconceived design. Such a massive construction must have involved a community-wide effort. Perhaps people from all of the surrounding cliff dwellings helped with this project. The structure was never completed; there is no evidence of a roof or roof timbers. Apparently construction stopped when the Anasazi people began to leave the area. It is tempting to view Sun Temple as the cliff dwellers’ attempt to appeal to the spirits of their homeland. Though the structure appears ceremonial (nothing about the rooms suggests habitation – no doors, no windows or fire pits), its exact function remains a mystery.” I took a few photos of the well built structure, including the one below (at right) through one of the windows the looking down the corridor between the inner an outer walls of the temple. A funny, albeit sort of annoying, encounter happened at Sun Temple. As I was lining up a photo of the exterior wall of the structure an older couple walked right in front of me and stopped to study the temple. No worries, I just moved over and picked a new piece of the wall to shoot. The oblivious old-timers just moved right back into my frame. Once is excusable, twice is annoying, and did not want to find out what three time s meant, so I just waited for them to toddle on their merry way.
Once we had snapped a few photos of Cliff Palace from the long-distance view point we reloaded into the Rav4 and left the Mesa Top Loop. We had one more stop to make this afternoon back long the Cliff Palace Loop to try and get a closer view of the largest cliff dwelling in the park. From the Mesa Top Loop view point it appears that Cliff Palace is well lit at this time of day. Not much in the way of traffic and only a handful of folks in the Cliff Palace area. We were down at the view point about 3:45. Yes, the lighting was better as the bulk of the structure was not in shadow. Lynn pointed out that since the ruin site is closed that we were able to get nice photos without people in the shot. Good point. A couple of folks might have been nice for scale, but having an entire tour group (or two) in the frame would probably be distracting. I’ll take the shot without people any day. Speaking of shots, here's the link to the gallery from our drive around Chapin Mesa.
A note on getting around in the park. The entrance to Mesa Verde is at the north end of the park, but all the really cool sites are southern end, basically all the way to the park border with the Ute Indian Reservation. Drive time from the entrance to either Chapin Mesa or Wetherill Mesa is around an hour. Far View Lodge is sort of in the middle of the park, more or less and situated to provide good access to both the Chapin and Wetherill Mesa areas (approximately 15 and 25 minute drives from the lodge, respectively). I placed the park map from the NPS.gov/meve website on this page, along with some details of the areas we explored.
Back in the parking lot, I asked Lynn if there was anything else she wanted to see or do today. Turns out, she was ready for a beer back on our balcony. Sounds like a winner! We were home and on the balcony with an O'Dell Brewing Myrcenary Double IPA by 4:15. I did not check the label, but I knew it was a DIPA as soon as I opened the can! That lovely hoppy aroma was a dead giveaway. Fairly strong bite to start but a smooth finish. Quite good. The view from the balcony was lovely this afternoon. Bright blue sky with plenty of big, puffy, white clouds stretching out over the rolling landscape around the lodge. We could see the mountains and mesas off to the north and south. Lynn spotted two free ranging horses on the hillside off to the north. Right below us, Scrub Jays were flitting about in the evergreen shrubs and a rabbit was enjoying the afternoon sun. We just kicked back and took it all in.
Back in the parking lot, I asked Lynn if there was anything else she wanted to see or do today. Turns out, she was ready for a beer back on our balcony. Sounds like a winner! We were home and on the balcony with an O'Dell Brewing Myrcenary Double IPA by 4:15. I did not check the label, but I knew it was a DIPA as soon as I opened the can! That lovely hoppy aroma was a dead giveaway. Fairly strong bite to start but a smooth finish. Quite good. The view from the balcony was lovely this afternoon. Bright blue sky with plenty of big, puffy, white clouds stretching out over the rolling landscape around the lodge. We could see the mountains and mesas off to the north and south. Lynn spotted two free ranging horses on the hillside off to the north. Right below us, Scrub Jays were flitting about in the evergreen shrubs and a rabbit was enjoying the afternoon sun. We just kicked back and took it all in.
The time on the balcony of our room at Far View Lodge was a treat each day. Whether early in the morning or during the afternoon, the views were always marvelous. It was peaceful each time we sat out there. Not a lot of traffic on the park road below us and little if any noise from our neighbors (sometimes I wondered if we even had neighbors). Far View was indeed a great name for the lodge as we could certainly see a “fer piece.” Sure, we probably could have covered the park in less time, but our modus operandi is to slow down and smell the roses, or in our case, the hops.
Big difference on the balcony this afternoon was that it was much warmer compared to yesterday. I reckon the temperature had climbed into the low 70s F so it was very pleasant (it was 51 F when we started this morning). Lynn was wrapped up in a blanket yesterday (mid 40s F) but today is fine with just her fleece (for clarity, yesterday she was wearing the fleece under the blanket!). This time on the balcony was a highlight of the trip. Really enjoyed just sitting out here, enjoying the peace of the afternoon with my best friend and a good beer. Much like our happy hour spot at Crater Lake, this was a great way to end a day of exploring in an amazing National Park.
Big difference on the balcony this afternoon was that it was much warmer compared to yesterday. I reckon the temperature had climbed into the low 70s F so it was very pleasant (it was 51 F when we started this morning). Lynn was wrapped up in a blanket yesterday (mid 40s F) but today is fine with just her fleece (for clarity, yesterday she was wearing the fleece under the blanket!). This time on the balcony was a highlight of the trip. Really enjoyed just sitting out here, enjoying the peace of the afternoon with my best friend and a good beer. Much like our happy hour spot at Crater Lake, this was a great way to end a day of exploring in an amazing National Park.
Over dinner, we reviewed our adventures from today and made out plans for tomorrow. Our Long House tour was scheduled for 0930 out on Wetherill Mesa. Drive time was supposed to be about 30 minutes from the lodge but since we don’t like to rush and certainly don’t want to be late we decided to shoot for an 0830 departure. That will give us plenty of time to get there and get ready. We finished up dinner and headed back to the room. Clouds were rolling in so not much hope for a starry night sky. We were home just after 7:00 and quickly called it a night. Early to bed…
Day 8 - Tuesday, October 11 - Wetherill Mesa …early to rise! Going to bed early means I am getting good rest and getting up early. Plenty of time to get ready and have a little breakfast in the room before the day’s activities. And since I’m awake before Lynn I also have some quiet time to catch up on the trip notes and check a few emails.
Warmer this morning but overcast. A passing sprinkle came through a little before 0800 as I was watching the morning develop from the back balcony. Comfortable out here in a tee-shirt and fleece. The clouds are trying to break up to the east. The cottontail out here under the balcony does not seem too worried about the weather. Raining to the north over the mountains but looks clear to the south where we will be heading. I reckon it just depends on which direction the front is traveling.
Day 8 - Tuesday, October 11 - Wetherill Mesa …early to rise! Going to bed early means I am getting good rest and getting up early. Plenty of time to get ready and have a little breakfast in the room before the day’s activities. And since I’m awake before Lynn I also have some quiet time to catch up on the trip notes and check a few emails.
Warmer this morning but overcast. A passing sprinkle came through a little before 0800 as I was watching the morning develop from the back balcony. Comfortable out here in a tee-shirt and fleece. The clouds are trying to break up to the east. The cottontail out here under the balcony does not seem too worried about the weather. Raining to the north over the mountains but looks clear to the south where we will be heading. I reckon it just depends on which direction the front is traveling.
We were on the road at 8:30, right on schedule. Lovey drive out to Wetherill Mesa. We pretty much had the road to ourselves this morning. I guess the folks who are going on the Long House hike are either already there or are more of the right on time crowd. We arrived at the designated parking area at 8:55. The Rav4’s instrumentation panel indicated an outside air temperature of 57 degrees F here at 7,200 feet above sea level. The sky was still mostly grey but seems to be breaking up a bit. I think we’ll have a nice day for a hike.
We just meandered about the information kiosk for a while waiting for the tour to start. I got chilly and went back to the truck for my TripAdvisor fleece. Glad that I did. Lynn had on her TA gloves that we got back in Bluff but I'm not that cold. Hey, there’s Ranger Beth. Maybe she will be our guide again today. Nope, turns out she is leading the hike to Mug House that left just before the Long House tour. I later found out that the Mug House tour is a $25-per-person, 2-hour, 3-mile hike over rough ground with some scrambling. Sounds like fun! Maybe next trip. I also read that Mug House was named for the three pottery mugs that were hanging inside one of the rooms of the dwelling when the place was discovered. Our guide for today was Ranger Kim. He's a seasonal Ranger who has been working here the past eight years.
The weather was still indeterminant and was leaning back toward threatening although nothing really serious was in view. As we started the hike south from the information kiosk the weather reverted to breaking up a bit. There was more blue sky showing through with lots of big, puffy white clouds and a high cirrus overlay. While the dark clouds had diminished there were still a few stormy looks scattered about. But overall it was pleasant and not raining, so I’ll take that as a win.
Ranger Kim had explained the plan for the hike. We have about three-quarters of a mile to walk from the kiosk to the access trail to Long House, then down the hill to explore the ruins and back up to the top of the access trail. That will cover a little under two miles. The tour is over at this point. We can either walk back to the kiosk with Ranger Kim or continue exploring the area on foot. The latter option was highly encouraged by Ranger Kim and was exactly what we intended to do.
This is a very easy walk. The trails are all paved or very well packed dirt. Even walking about in the ruin site was all on sandstone or packed dirt. From the kiosk to the access trail was along the road that is used in the summer to shuttle visitors around the mesa. It is closed at this time of year so only Park maintenance vehicles and those of us on foot were traversing the macadam this morning.
As is the case with a Ranger-led tour, we made a few stops along the way in order to keep the herd together and to learn a few things. There were about 50 folks on the tour this morning (about the same number that we had yesterday at Balcony House), so it was wise to pause to let the stragglers catch up. The good news was that group was doing a good job of staying together. We were walking through a forest of burnt trees. Ranger Kim explained that over the years the park has had a series of forest fires that have burned large swaths of the park. We certainly noticed that on the drive out onto Wetherill Mesa this morning. The area we walked through on the way to Long House was burned by the Pony fire during the summer of 2000, which burned over 4700 acres including 1,352 acres in the park. Between the signage and Ranger Kim we learned that there have been five major fires in the park since 1996 that covered about 75% of the park. Lightning was the culprit as far as the cause of the fires. These fires were obviously destructive forces as seen by the desolate landscape and did threaten and in some cases did damage to the archaeological sites and park buildings. For example, the intense heat of the fires is particularly devastating to rock art and did destroy the Battleship Rock panel. However, these fires did have a benefit by removing dense undergrowth that had obscured previously undiscovered sites. Nearly 600 previously unknown sites were uncovered. The fires also revealed that the ancient inhabitants had well designed water containment systems made up of terraces, check dams and reservoirs.
We just meandered about the information kiosk for a while waiting for the tour to start. I got chilly and went back to the truck for my TripAdvisor fleece. Glad that I did. Lynn had on her TA gloves that we got back in Bluff but I'm not that cold. Hey, there’s Ranger Beth. Maybe she will be our guide again today. Nope, turns out she is leading the hike to Mug House that left just before the Long House tour. I later found out that the Mug House tour is a $25-per-person, 2-hour, 3-mile hike over rough ground with some scrambling. Sounds like fun! Maybe next trip. I also read that Mug House was named for the three pottery mugs that were hanging inside one of the rooms of the dwelling when the place was discovered. Our guide for today was Ranger Kim. He's a seasonal Ranger who has been working here the past eight years.
The weather was still indeterminant and was leaning back toward threatening although nothing really serious was in view. As we started the hike south from the information kiosk the weather reverted to breaking up a bit. There was more blue sky showing through with lots of big, puffy white clouds and a high cirrus overlay. While the dark clouds had diminished there were still a few stormy looks scattered about. But overall it was pleasant and not raining, so I’ll take that as a win.
Ranger Kim had explained the plan for the hike. We have about three-quarters of a mile to walk from the kiosk to the access trail to Long House, then down the hill to explore the ruins and back up to the top of the access trail. That will cover a little under two miles. The tour is over at this point. We can either walk back to the kiosk with Ranger Kim or continue exploring the area on foot. The latter option was highly encouraged by Ranger Kim and was exactly what we intended to do.
This is a very easy walk. The trails are all paved or very well packed dirt. Even walking about in the ruin site was all on sandstone or packed dirt. From the kiosk to the access trail was along the road that is used in the summer to shuttle visitors around the mesa. It is closed at this time of year so only Park maintenance vehicles and those of us on foot were traversing the macadam this morning.
As is the case with a Ranger-led tour, we made a few stops along the way in order to keep the herd together and to learn a few things. There were about 50 folks on the tour this morning (about the same number that we had yesterday at Balcony House), so it was wise to pause to let the stragglers catch up. The good news was that group was doing a good job of staying together. We were walking through a forest of burnt trees. Ranger Kim explained that over the years the park has had a series of forest fires that have burned large swaths of the park. We certainly noticed that on the drive out onto Wetherill Mesa this morning. The area we walked through on the way to Long House was burned by the Pony fire during the summer of 2000, which burned over 4700 acres including 1,352 acres in the park. Between the signage and Ranger Kim we learned that there have been five major fires in the park since 1996 that covered about 75% of the park. Lightning was the culprit as far as the cause of the fires. These fires were obviously destructive forces as seen by the desolate landscape and did threaten and in some cases did damage to the archaeological sites and park buildings. For example, the intense heat of the fires is particularly devastating to rock art and did destroy the Battleship Rock panel. However, these fires did have a benefit by removing dense undergrowth that had obscured previously undiscovered sites. Nearly 600 previously unknown sites were uncovered. The fires also revealed that the ancient inhabitants had well designed water containment systems made up of terraces, check dams and reservoirs.
While grasses, shrubs and flowers have repopulated the burned area here on top of Wetherill Mesa, there were no new trees. After 16 years, the pinyon pines have not started to regrow. Ranger Kim indicated that they have found no seedlings. The pinyon pines may not regrow; perhaps this will become a different type of forest. Kim did say that the open land would have been more in line with what the farming would have looked like during the time of the ancient inhabitants.
Sometime during the walk out to Long House, someone in the group asked about the horses roaming the park. Ranger Kim indicated that there were 80 to 90 feral horses in the park but they really should not be there. The horses tend to roam into the park from the adjacent Ute Indian reservation.
We stopped again at the junction with the access trail to Long House as there was a Johnny House here and the last chance to take care of any personal business. Once folks had filed the appropriate paperwork, we continued down the access trail to the ruin site. At another informational stop, Ranger Kim talked about the farming lifestyle of the ancient inhabitants of the Mesa Verde. Actually Ranger Kim was a virtual cornucopia of knowledge (sorry, had to use that phrase at some point) and shared a lot of interesting facts with the group as we made our way down the trail. So farming. The ancients farmed the land on top of the mesa (we’ll come back to the mesa). They cultivated primarily corn, beans and squash. There is also some evidence of potatoes as well, maybe. The ancient farmers developed corn over hundreds of years. They started with a grass with larger seeds and experimented over time until they got to the little ears of corn that Ranger Beth had shown us yesterday. I asked how much farm land was needed to support a family. Kim indicated that probably one to two acres were needed to support each family which compares closely with current Hopi farms are about three acres per family. The only domesticated animals were dogs and turkeys. Probably used the turkeys more for feathers than meat. They would make blankets and coats from the feathers.
The ancient inhabitants used to live on the mesa top as well. In fact they lived on the mesa for hundreds of years (600 hundred) before moving into the cliff dwellings. Ranger Kim listed three possible reason why the ancient inhabitants of Mesa Verde moved into the cliff dwellings:
Sometime during the walk out to Long House, someone in the group asked about the horses roaming the park. Ranger Kim indicated that there were 80 to 90 feral horses in the park but they really should not be there. The horses tend to roam into the park from the adjacent Ute Indian reservation.
We stopped again at the junction with the access trail to Long House as there was a Johnny House here and the last chance to take care of any personal business. Once folks had filed the appropriate paperwork, we continued down the access trail to the ruin site. At another informational stop, Ranger Kim talked about the farming lifestyle of the ancient inhabitants of the Mesa Verde. Actually Ranger Kim was a virtual cornucopia of knowledge (sorry, had to use that phrase at some point) and shared a lot of interesting facts with the group as we made our way down the trail. So farming. The ancients farmed the land on top of the mesa (we’ll come back to the mesa). They cultivated primarily corn, beans and squash. There is also some evidence of potatoes as well, maybe. The ancient farmers developed corn over hundreds of years. They started with a grass with larger seeds and experimented over time until they got to the little ears of corn that Ranger Beth had shown us yesterday. I asked how much farm land was needed to support a family. Kim indicated that probably one to two acres were needed to support each family which compares closely with current Hopi farms are about three acres per family. The only domesticated animals were dogs and turkeys. Probably used the turkeys more for feathers than meat. They would make blankets and coats from the feathers.
The ancient inhabitants used to live on the mesa top as well. In fact they lived on the mesa for hundreds of years (600 hundred) before moving into the cliff dwellings. Ranger Kim listed three possible reason why the ancient inhabitants of Mesa Verde moved into the cliff dwellings:
- Protection from the elements. The large alcoves obviously provided a roof from the rain and snow
- They needed the space. Populations were growing and the arable land on top of the mesa was needed for crops, so moving the living quarters over the cliff opened the land from housing to farming.
- Very defensible…in theory.
It was very interesting that the cliff dwellings were not inhabited for very long relative to the total time that the Ancestral Pueblo people were in the area. They started building the cliff dwellings in the late 1190s but sometime in the late 1270s the population started to migrate south into Arizona and New Mexico. By 1300, the ancient inhabitants of Mesa Verde had moved on, leaving these amazing structures that they had labored so hard to build.
Back to the name of the Park and the area, Mesa Verde. OK, the Spanish explorers named the area Mesa Verde which translates to “green table.” Seems reasonable, with the flat top and plenty of vegetation. The only problem with this, as Ranger Kim pointed out, is that this really is not a mesa. A mesa has a flat top, while the geologic structure we are on actually slopes to the south. The correct term for these features is cuesta. So in August we learned that Crater Lake is actually a caldera and now Mesa Verde should be Cuesta Verde. A rose by any other name….OK, moving on.
Back to the name of the Park and the area, Mesa Verde. OK, the Spanish explorers named the area Mesa Verde which translates to “green table.” Seems reasonable, with the flat top and plenty of vegetation. The only problem with this, as Ranger Kim pointed out, is that this really is not a mesa. A mesa has a flat top, while the geologic structure we are on actually slopes to the south. The correct term for these features is cuesta. So in August we learned that Crater Lake is actually a caldera and now Mesa Verde should be Cuesta Verde. A rose by any other name….OK, moving on.
We ended up near the back of the pack as we started on the downhill section of the trail. Ranger Kim made one more stop just before we hit the switchbacks. We were too far back to hear what he was saying, but that was OK as he was standing right on the edge of a rock that was right on the edge of, well, the edge! From 30 yards away I was getting the willies. If I had been any closer I would have had to ask him to take a step or two away from the edge. But he must be part mountain goat as he seemed quite comfortable standing there.
So the mesa top is at about 7,200 feet above sea level and we’ve been on a gradual downslope to this point. From here the trail drops about 130 feet down to the ruin site which is right about 7.000 feet elevation (the ramblr track got a little confused once we got over the edge and down to the ruin site as it is hard to get a good signal in the canyon). The floor of Rock Canyon which lies to the west of Wetherill Mesa is about 6,500 feet. It is a pretty easy walk along the paved path with one set of steps, a couple long sloping sections and a series of switchbacks to get to the alcove in which Long House stands. Once we got down the level of the alcove we got our first peak at Long House. Wow! What an amazing site! We were still the caboose of the train, as there was really no way or no point in passing along the narrower, downhill section of the trail. Once we pulled in with the rest of the group one of the other folks on the tour told us that we were holding here to give everyone a chance to get a few photos of the site without people and suggested that we get our images since we were the last ones to arrive. Sounds like a plan. Lynn and I snapped a few photos of the beautiful dwelling under its massive sandstone shelter. It was wonderful to get a few photos without folks in the frame.
So the mesa top is at about 7,200 feet above sea level and we’ve been on a gradual downslope to this point. From here the trail drops about 130 feet down to the ruin site which is right about 7.000 feet elevation (the ramblr track got a little confused once we got over the edge and down to the ruin site as it is hard to get a good signal in the canyon). The floor of Rock Canyon which lies to the west of Wetherill Mesa is about 6,500 feet. It is a pretty easy walk along the paved path with one set of steps, a couple long sloping sections and a series of switchbacks to get to the alcove in which Long House stands. Once we got down the level of the alcove we got our first peak at Long House. Wow! What an amazing site! We were still the caboose of the train, as there was really no way or no point in passing along the narrower, downhill section of the trail. Once we pulled in with the rest of the group one of the other folks on the tour told us that we were holding here to give everyone a chance to get a few photos of the site without people and suggested that we get our images since we were the last ones to arrive. Sounds like a plan. Lynn and I snapped a few photos of the beautiful dwelling under its massive sandstone shelter. It was wonderful to get a few photos without folks in the frame.
Ranger Kim next led us down the last short incline into the ruin site. He took us all through the site, which included scaling to ladders but overall was very easy to navigate. Throughout the time in Long House, Range Kim provided a lot of interesting information and answered several very good questions from the group. No way that I could remember everything but here’s the list of highlights (some of which are augmented by a little post-trip research):
- First some statistics. Long House is considered to be the second largest cliff dwelling in the park but is nearly as big as Cliff Palace, which has the title as the largest. There are 150 rooms and 21 kivas at the Long House site. The population of Long House is estimated to be 100 to 150 people but could have been as high as 175. The alcove housing the site is nearly 300 feet across and tall enough to hold a four-story tower that the native people built.
- The wooden beams used in the construction date from A.D. 1145 to 1279.
- There were a couple of unusual construction details in Long House. One was a row of storage units that were built higher up in a ledge in the back of the alcove. I guess the ancient builders were just trying to take advantage of available space in the alcove. Kim also pointed out a round window higher up building.
- One of the specific points Kim highlighted was where the Swedish researcher, Gustaf Nordenskiöld, had carved “No. 15” into a section of the sandstone alcove to designate this at the 15th site he had explored. Gustaf was the son of polar explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld. The Wetherills hosted Gustaf at their ranch in 1891. Gustaf brought sound scientific methodology to documenting the cliff dwellings and collecting the artifacts from the sites. He had extensive, detailed observations including taking many photographs of the sites. There was a significant controversy when Gustaf attempted to ship hundreds of artifacts that he had collected from the ruin sites back to Sweden. He was arrested, but it turned out there were no laws in place at that time preventing the removal of artifacts and nothing that would preclude him from shipping these historical treasures out of the United State. It was during the two weeks that this was being sorted out that he received his glass plate camera and took over a hundred photos of many of the sites to provide excellent documentation on their condition when rediscovered (so before the ruins were excavated and restored). The controversy caused by the shipment of the Mesa Verde artifacts out of the country raised awareness about the need to protect the land and historical significance of Mesa Verde.
- My favorite area of the ruin site was the beer room. No, this was not were the Ancestral Pueblo people kept their home brew. It was where the archaeologists exploring the newly rediscovered site stored their lagers and ales.
- Kim talked more about the function of a kiva, building on the information that Ranger Beth had provided at Balcony House. One of the points that Ranger Kim made was that it took a few hours to get the room warm enough to get the air currents flowing so that the smoke would clear out. However, one set going, the kiva could be kept warm with just a small fire.
- There were a couple of seep areas in the alcove where the ancient inhabitants could have collected water. One was in the back of the alcove and the other out in front of the structures. The vegetation around these natural water sources, even in the relative shade in the back of the alcove, were lush and green. More mossy in the back of the alcove.
- Building and maintaining these dwellings was labor intensive and time consuming. The sandstone blocks used as the primary building material were all shaped using basic hand tools. But the builders of these structures improved their techniques over the decades. The fact that the structures have remained largely intact over the centuries is a testament to the skill put into the buildings as well as the protective nature of the alcoves in which the cliff dwellings were built. Yeah, there has been has lot of restoration and reconstruction on many of the old structures but that fact that there was enough still stranding for the archaeologists to rebuild is amazing.
- There were a few examples of rock art in the alcove, but not a lot. The ones we saw were faded pictographs in red and yellow.
- Ranger Kim talked about the water management systems that were developed by the ancient inhabitants. They used check dams to collect water and may have built reservoirs. He indicated that there are sites around Mesa Verde which may have been used as reservoirs but that there is still some debate as to their use. Maybe these sites were reservoirs or they may have been ceremonial dance courts. Kim said that the answer he liked was that when these structures held water they were reservoirs and when they were dry the people probably used them for dancing in hopes of bringing rain to fill the reservoir.
- While I doubt that the vista was high on the list of requirements when the original inhabitants build in this location, there was a nice view looking down the valley from just about anywhere we stood in the ruin site.
- Ranger Kim talked a good deal about the people who inhabited the area and built these grand cliff dwellings. When they first moved into the area, they are hunter-gatherers but developed a more agrarian lifestyle overtime. While they were in the area for several hundred years, they finally moved out during a period of extended drought. Kim stated that the Ancestral Pueblo people may have tried to move back into the area after the drought was over but that they may have been blocked by other Native people (Utes) who also lived in the area.
- So where did they go once they left Mesa Verde? Kim talked about research that is being done to answer that question by trying to relate the Mesa Verde inhabitants to current Pueblos. The question was asked about DNA testing and it this could be used to help solve the riddle. Kim indicated that the Indians are against DNA testing as the results might undermine or disprove their religion. What if the results show that the lineage of the current Pueblo people tie back through the ancient inhabitants of Mesa Verde but their lineage is connected to Tibet or Siberian where their people would have started their journey? This would go against the beliefs of the Pueblo people, which is that their journey began at the Grand Canyon (I think).
- The modern Pueblo people have been asked why their ancestors left Mesa Verde. The answer was “it was time.” But how did they know it was time? “There were signs.” The Pueblo people are looking for “the Center” and Mesa Verde was just not that place. Some Pueblo people now say they have found that place, others say they have not, and some are non-committal. The issue now is they are now surrounded by the modern sprawl, so if they have not yet found the Center how can hope to locate it now? They answer is interesting and highlights differences between cultures, I think. Their feeling is that things change, some event, an earthquake, volcano, or something, will cause a change that will allow them to find the Center. "We are patient," is what the modern Pueblo people say. Sounds like sage teachings from a Jedi Master. However, if it were Master Yoda I think he would say "patient we are."
By this time we were all out on the big plaza in from the alcove. This is where Ranger Kim gave us much of the information on the journey of the Pueblo people. From here Kim pointed us back up the trail to the start of the access trail. Again this is where the guided tour ended. Most everyone on the tour followed Kim back in the direction of the information kiosk. Just a handful went off exploring on their own. We took a short break at the picnic pavilion there at the start of the access trail and then continued around the loop. Then we were off along the paved road, following the summer tram route counterclockwise. Here's the photo gallery for the Long House tour. and the Ramblr track to the guided-tour of Long House.
As we made our way along the tram route, the first site we came to was the Badger House Community. We stopped at two of the pit houses near the main road, but decided to explore the rest of the site when we came around the other side of the loop. From here the loop road took us south down Wetherill Mesa. We were still walking through the burnt out pinyon pines from the Pony fire. The lifeless skeletons of the stunted trees spread all across the mesa. Tommy would have enjoyed the bare, twisted and gnarled trunks of the trees spread across the mesa top. It would have taken him hours to complete that loop as he would be lining up photos about every three steps!
We only made a couple of stops along this part of the loop, but there were only a couple of stops to make. The first was at the Long House overlook so that we could get the big picture view of the site that we had just explored. The overlook is just a short walk from the paved tram road and provided a nice overview of Long House and its setting under the huge sandstone overhang at the end of the canyon.
As we made our way along the tram route, the first site we came to was the Badger House Community. We stopped at two of the pit houses near the main road, but decided to explore the rest of the site when we came around the other side of the loop. From here the loop road took us south down Wetherill Mesa. We were still walking through the burnt out pinyon pines from the Pony fire. The lifeless skeletons of the stunted trees spread all across the mesa. Tommy would have enjoyed the bare, twisted and gnarled trunks of the trees spread across the mesa top. It would have taken him hours to complete that loop as he would be lining up photos about every three steps!
We only made a couple of stops along this part of the loop, but there were only a couple of stops to make. The first was at the Long House overlook so that we could get the big picture view of the site that we had just explored. The overlook is just a short walk from the paved tram road and provided a nice overview of Long House and its setting under the huge sandstone overhang at the end of the canyon.
Back at the tram road we continued south through the burnt out forest on the mesa top. It was a little eerie as there was no one else around along this stretch of the walk. In fact, for the entire walk around this lower part of the loop we only saw a handful of other folks, perhaps five total, scattered along the way. Plus no vehicular traffic at all (there was one maintenance truck out when we were walking to Long House, but I reckon they are now done for the day in this area). But that was also nice as it made for a peaceful walk.
The next overlook was about a mile from the Long House view point. The second vista gave us a look at Kodak House. The signage at the overlook provided some history of the site. Gustav Nordenskiöld “discovered” this site in 1891. By that time the site had been extensively looted. Pothunters had pushed large sections of the ruin completely out of the alcove. Nordenskiöld named the ruin “Kodak House” because his expedition cached its camera in one of the rooms. From the mass of fallen stones it is difficult to reconstruct a picture of the original ruin. Evidence of upper stories is obscured. Kodak House had approximately 70 rooms and six or seven kivas. Even though it was severely damaged from the earlier pillagers, it is still obvious that this was an extensive dwelling. An interesting feature was that the Ancestral Puebloans took advantage of the natural features of the alcove and built their homes on two sandstone shelves within the overhang.
Once again on the tram road, we were nearly at the southern end of the loop so very soon we were starting the return part of our walk. There were no marked points-of-interest along this portion of the road, just the views, both far and near, to enjoy. Again, we were walking through the burnt out pinyons, but there was plenty of green with the tall grass and shrubs that dotted the mesa. Plus there were splashes of color scattered about from the wildflowers that were still in bloom this late in the fall. We passed one other hiker along this stretch of the route, so we had the area almost to ourselves. Well, us and the Ute ponies that we saw wandering about through the dead forest. It was also along this section of the trail that we experienced all four seasons in terms of weather in a span of a few hundred yards. While the sky was generally getting brighter as we traveled around the loop, about halfway up the east side of the loop the overcast quickly returned and the clouds were dark and threatening. The temperature dropped considerably. A sprinkle of rain fell briefing. That would be a bad thing as there really is not cover, fortunately it was very fleeting. Now I’m really glad I went back for my fleece before starting this hike. And then we saw it; a flake of snow gently drifted across our path. Then another. We were now in a little flurry. It did not last long but after a very brief lull the precipitation returned but this time in the form of little balls of snow and ice. What the…hail! They were tiny so not an issue for us and fortunately the little storm did not intensify. And it was soon other. Just a very localized weather event. We probably only walked a couple hundred yards, if that, from the time these little events started to occur to the point where the clouds were again parting, the sky was back to blue and the sun was dominating the sky. Off to the east toward the distant mountains we could see other little pockets of weather rolling across the landscape, but here conditions were on the upswing. By the time we returned to the Badger House Community we were again under a non-threatening sky with a bright blue background that was full of huge, fluffy white cloud, the sun was out and the temperature was back to pleasant plus a very gentle breeze. Ideal conditions once again.
Once again on the tram road, we were nearly at the southern end of the loop so very soon we were starting the return part of our walk. There were no marked points-of-interest along this portion of the road, just the views, both far and near, to enjoy. Again, we were walking through the burnt out pinyons, but there was plenty of green with the tall grass and shrubs that dotted the mesa. Plus there were splashes of color scattered about from the wildflowers that were still in bloom this late in the fall. We passed one other hiker along this stretch of the route, so we had the area almost to ourselves. Well, us and the Ute ponies that we saw wandering about through the dead forest. It was also along this section of the trail that we experienced all four seasons in terms of weather in a span of a few hundred yards. While the sky was generally getting brighter as we traveled around the loop, about halfway up the east side of the loop the overcast quickly returned and the clouds were dark and threatening. The temperature dropped considerably. A sprinkle of rain fell briefing. That would be a bad thing as there really is not cover, fortunately it was very fleeting. Now I’m really glad I went back for my fleece before starting this hike. And then we saw it; a flake of snow gently drifted across our path. Then another. We were now in a little flurry. It did not last long but after a very brief lull the precipitation returned but this time in the form of little balls of snow and ice. What the…hail! They were tiny so not an issue for us and fortunately the little storm did not intensify. And it was soon other. Just a very localized weather event. We probably only walked a couple hundred yards, if that, from the time these little events started to occur to the point where the clouds were again parting, the sky was back to blue and the sun was dominating the sky. Off to the east toward the distant mountains we could see other little pockets of weather rolling across the landscape, but here conditions were on the upswing. By the time we returned to the Badger House Community we were again under a non-threatening sky with a bright blue background that was full of huge, fluffy white cloud, the sun was out and the temperature was back to pleasant plus a very gentle breeze. Ideal conditions once again.
Other than the horses that we roaming on the mesa we really had not seen much in the way of wildlife so far today. The exception was that there were several little butterflies flitting about in the wildflowers along the trail: blue-gray ones with spotted wings, some bright purple ones, and a few decorated in yellow and white. They were all dashing about so no way to get a good look at any of them and none wanted to sit for a portrait. The only one that I got a really good look at was a bigger black butterfly with yellow trim on its wings. Maybe that one I can identify. But they were fun to watch and added a bit more color to the hike. However, back at the Badger House Community we started seeing more in terms of birds. Lots of Mountain Bluebirds and Western Bluebirds. There were also a Yellow-rumped Warbler or two in the area. Not sure what might have been drawing them to this specific area, but there were many of the little birds flitting about in the dead snags surrounding the pit houses.
We spent a little while exploring the pithouses here in the Badger House Community area. One of the ruin sites in this area was named Two Raven House. All of the pithouse excavations that we have seen are covered with a metal structure to protect them from the elements. The excavation work that had been done really provided a great look at the construction of the structures that made of this ancient community. The signage in the area provided a lot of great information on the history of the people and how they lived:
We spent a little while exploring the pithouses here in the Badger House Community area. One of the ruin sites in this area was named Two Raven House. All of the pithouse excavations that we have seen are covered with a metal structure to protect them from the elements. The excavation work that had been done really provided a great look at the construction of the structures that made of this ancient community. The signage in the area provided a lot of great information on the history of the people and how they lived:
- Ancestral Pueblo people had settled in Mesa Verde by about AD 550. Previously they had been semi-nomadic, hunting deer and small animals and gathering wild seeds, berries and pinyon nuts. As cultivated crops of corn, beans and squash became increasingly important in their diet, these early farmers began building permanent homes known as pithouses. The foundations of the pithouse were built in AD 650. Permanent homes built near cultivated fields were only one of many lifestyle changes during the Basketmaker III period (AD 550-750). Additionally, they began to grow and cook beans, developed hand-coiled pottery jars and bowls and began to rely on the bow and arrow for hunting.
- Early pithouses featured a main living area dug a few feet in the ground. Four corner posts supported roof beams. Smaller wall poles extended diagonally to the roof beams. Floor features included fire hearths and storage pits. Smaller roofed structures called antechambers were often connected to the pithouses. Ancestral Pueblo people relied on the summer corn crop for winter food and may have stored it and other supplies in antechambers.
- After about AD 900, Mesa Verde communities were dotted with kivas. Most were located in front of villages where their ground–level roofs formed open plazas and work areas. Although similar to the pithouses that Ancestral Pueblo people lived in during earlier times, kivas were round and their roof beams were supported not by four wooden posts, but by masonry columns now called “pilasters.” By AD 1258 when one of the excavated kivas was constructed, most kiva walls were built of masonry from top to bottom.
- Comparison of the distinctive floor plan with modern Pueblo kivas suggests ceremonial uses. Ancestral Pueblo people many have used kivas for healing rites, to pray for rain or a good crop. Artifacts suggest that they also lived in kivas and at times worked on household tasks such as weaving.
- While keyhole shaped kivas have been found elsewhere, it is generally considered to be a Mesa Verde trait.
- Many of Mesa Verde’s ancient towers are connected to kivas by tunnels. The example at Badger House Community was built in AD 1258. The commanding locations of some towers suggest that they may have been built for defense or for communications; signal fires from tower to tower would link settlements across the mesas. The tunnels would have allowed people to move from one location to another unseen. Or perhaps the tower and kiva combination had a ceremonial purpose. The tunnel we saw here was 41-feet long and is the longest tunnel discovered in Mesa Verde.
- Construction techniques used by the ancient inhabitants became more refined over the time they lived at Mesa Verde. They also evolved their dwellings over time from the pithouses, to single story rows of houses, then multi-story structures on the mesa top then finally the elaborate if somewhat rambling cliff dwellings. One ruin site here contrasted structures built in AD 1050 and AD 1258. The earlier houses had walls that were one stone thick with the rocks being roughly shaped by chipping along the edges. Later the rocks were carefully shaped with using hammerstones and placed in uniform rows. The walls of these houses were two stones thick, filled with dirt and rough stone. The rough stones were most likely salvaged from the earlier dwellings. The thicker compound walls could support multistoried pueblos.
- Two Raven House is a single-story pueblo that was inhabited intermittently for about 300 years from AD 850 to 1150. Like many of the villages of the time, it was constructed with a southeastern exposure, and the pueblo includes a central plaza with a kiva. The masonry walls are one stone wide. The site has some unusual and therefore thought provoking features. First there is a small, underground room that was built around AD 1150 during the last occupation of the site. Pithouses were more common hundreds of years earlier. The function of this room is not known. There also seems to have been a stockade built at the site based on the forty-five postholes around the village perimeter. The remains of some of the juniper posts are still in place. The purpose of the stockade is still not known. Perhaps it was a windbreak or an enclosure for turkeys.
- Only the foundations of the pueblos at Two Raven House are visible now. It is thought that when the Ancestral Pueblo people moved from the mesa top to the cliff alcoves that they removed stones from these dwellings for reuse elsewhere, possibly at Long House.
- Ancient Ancestral Pueblo farming villages were often occupied and re-occupied several times over hundreds of years. Subsequent generations of builders modified the structures and village layout based on their needs and current styles. This area was settled about AD 900. There are remains of structures spanning over 200 years, including a kiva built in AD 1050 and a nearby tower constructed AD 1258. Archeological evidence suggests that the community with the kiva was occupied for more than 100 years before the residents moved away. In AD 1258, people returned to build their homes in the same location.
- Why did these people leave a location that had been a good place to live for 100 years? Changing weather conditions may have played a part. Tree rings tell us that a severe drought occurred between AD 1130 and AD 1180 in the Mesa Verde region. It is possible that the farmers living on the mesa top moved elsewhere to find better conditions for their crops during that time.
- The Ancestral Pueblo people lived on Wetherill Mesa for more than 700 years. They were skilled farmers, builders and craftspeople who were intimately familiar with their environment. Nevertheless, by AD 1300 they, and most other people in the region, walked away from their homes to migrate south.
We went on around the loop continuing through the forest with no leaves. We decided to skip the Nordenskiöld No. 16 site overlook and instead took the trail past the information station to Step House since this provided a more up close inspection of another cliff dwelling site. From the information kiosk, the loop out to Step House and back measures in at just over a mile with a bit of elevation change to get down to the ruin site and of course the accompanying climb back up. Nothing significant and on a wide, smooth paved trail, so really just a continuation of the easy hiking conditions we have had all day. Of course easy is in the eye of the beholder, or maybe the nerve of the hiker. On our way down the trail to Step House we met a pair of Texans who were a bit buffaloed by the trail. They were hugging the sandstone wall along the inside of the trail, and laughing at themselves for being nervous about the trail being steep and exposed (I don’t like exposed, sheer drop-offs along the trail either, but we faced nothing like that at all today). We paused to chat with them for a moment and provided some encouragement then went on our way. We could still hear them laughing about their predicament, but the laughter died down as we moved away so I’m thinking they gave up and heading back to the parking lot.
The trail down to Step House provided nice views out over the adjacent canyon. Nice colors here with the scrub oaks and a few splashes from wildflowers. We could also see down into the alcove from the last part of the trail. There was a Ranger posted here and a few tourists milling about. As we entered the alcove I recognized the dark-green clad park employee; it was Ranger Kim pulling docent duty here following the Long House tour.
Once into the alcove, we chatted with Ranger Kim a bit. He pointed out some of the interesting features of this site, including the pithouse reconstructions that were built here as part of the Wetherill Mesa Project. The signage back at Two Raven House stated that the Wetherill Mesa Project was the largest research project to occur at Mesa Verde National Park, running from 1958 to 1965. It set the standard for how interdisciplinary archaeological research could occur, and revealed enormous amounts of new data about the sites in the park and how the Ancestral Pueblo people lived. This site is also interesting in that two separate occupations exist in the same alcove; Modified Basketmaker, dating to A.D. 626, and a Classic Pueblo masonry pueblo dating to A.D. 1226.
We were allowed to walk through the ruin site. There were ladders that provided access to the upper levels of the site. So up close inspection is possible, just don’t touch or climb on the actual ruins. There were some petroglyphs in the site as well. This is not a huge site, but does show the craftsmanship of the inhabitants in building these structures. We completed the short, self-guided tour, snapped a few photos of the architecture and art work, had Ranger Kim get a picture of us then headed up and out of the alcove along the other side of the loop trail. Sure, we could have spent more time at this fascinating site, but we’ve been going all day and it was getting to be time for a break. But even though we were thinking about unwinding, we still enjoyed the views on the hike up to the mesa top. The vista out over the canyon was quite nice, again highlighting the colors and contours of the rocks and the complimentary fall hues of the scrub oak. As we passed the overhang of the alcove we saw a groove carved into the sandstone and a very low wall along groove, both roughly paralleling the edge of the overhang. We figured this must be part of the water collection system that the ancients used to divert rain water to some sort of basin down in the alcove. Pretty clever.
Once into the alcove, we chatted with Ranger Kim a bit. He pointed out some of the interesting features of this site, including the pithouse reconstructions that were built here as part of the Wetherill Mesa Project. The signage back at Two Raven House stated that the Wetherill Mesa Project was the largest research project to occur at Mesa Verde National Park, running from 1958 to 1965. It set the standard for how interdisciplinary archaeological research could occur, and revealed enormous amounts of new data about the sites in the park and how the Ancestral Pueblo people lived. This site is also interesting in that two separate occupations exist in the same alcove; Modified Basketmaker, dating to A.D. 626, and a Classic Pueblo masonry pueblo dating to A.D. 1226.
We were allowed to walk through the ruin site. There were ladders that provided access to the upper levels of the site. So up close inspection is possible, just don’t touch or climb on the actual ruins. There were some petroglyphs in the site as well. This is not a huge site, but does show the craftsmanship of the inhabitants in building these structures. We completed the short, self-guided tour, snapped a few photos of the architecture and art work, had Ranger Kim get a picture of us then headed up and out of the alcove along the other side of the loop trail. Sure, we could have spent more time at this fascinating site, but we’ve been going all day and it was getting to be time for a break. But even though we were thinking about unwinding, we still enjoyed the views on the hike up to the mesa top. The vista out over the canyon was quite nice, again highlighting the colors and contours of the rocks and the complimentary fall hues of the scrub oak. As we passed the overhang of the alcove we saw a groove carved into the sandstone and a very low wall along groove, both roughly paralleling the edge of the overhang. We figured this must be part of the water collection system that the ancients used to divert rain water to some sort of basin down in the alcove. Pretty clever.
Our tour of Long house, some of the signs around the mesa loop and the discussion with Ranger Kim at Step House provided some insight on the early explorers and scientists who discovered the ruins of the ancient civilization. Of particular note were folks who have been mentioned already in this journal, the Wetherills and Gustaf Nordenskiöld. So who were these folks who played such important roles in the preservation of these ancient Native American cultural sites?
Let’s start with the Wetherills. Al, Win, Richard, Clayton and John Wetherill were not the first to explore Mesa Verde but they were the first to keep detailed notes of their discoveries and to lobby for their preservation. They were a family of cattle ranchers who befriended the Ute tribe near their ranch southwest of Mancos, Colorado. The Utes introduced the Wetherills to some of the ruin sites in Mesa Verde. Richard Wetherill rediscovered Cliff Palace in December, 1888. He gave the ruin site its present day name. The Wetherills explored the ruins and gathered artifacts. They also hosted and acted as guides for archaeologists and scientists who explored the ruin sites, including Gustaf Nordenskiöld.
As mentioned by Ranger Kim during the Long House tour, Gustaf Nordenskiöld had a major impact on Mesa Verde. He made the first scientific excavations in Mesa Verde in 1891 and was assisted and guided by the Wetherills.
The work done by the Wetherills and Nordenskiöld in documenting the archaeological significance of Mesa Verde brought attention to the area and for the need to protect these treasures. Their work led to the establishment of Mesa Verde National Park in 1906 so that these ruin sites could be both protected and shared.
We were back at the car and on the road about 2:15. Our little walking tour on Wetherill Mesa, including the guided tour of Long House, took about five hours and covered nearly seven miles. But it was an easy walk with a lot of amazing sights and was very educational. Well worth the time. Here’s the link to the photos from our hike around Wetherill Mesa and down to Step House and the Ramblr Track for our walk around Wetherill Mesa. The composite route (guided and self-guided tours) is shown below.
Let’s start with the Wetherills. Al, Win, Richard, Clayton and John Wetherill were not the first to explore Mesa Verde but they were the first to keep detailed notes of their discoveries and to lobby for their preservation. They were a family of cattle ranchers who befriended the Ute tribe near their ranch southwest of Mancos, Colorado. The Utes introduced the Wetherills to some of the ruin sites in Mesa Verde. Richard Wetherill rediscovered Cliff Palace in December, 1888. He gave the ruin site its present day name. The Wetherills explored the ruins and gathered artifacts. They also hosted and acted as guides for archaeologists and scientists who explored the ruin sites, including Gustaf Nordenskiöld.
As mentioned by Ranger Kim during the Long House tour, Gustaf Nordenskiöld had a major impact on Mesa Verde. He made the first scientific excavations in Mesa Verde in 1891 and was assisted and guided by the Wetherills.
The work done by the Wetherills and Nordenskiöld in documenting the archaeological significance of Mesa Verde brought attention to the area and for the need to protect these treasures. Their work led to the establishment of Mesa Verde National Park in 1906 so that these ruin sites could be both protected and shared.
We were back at the car and on the road about 2:15. Our little walking tour on Wetherill Mesa, including the guided tour of Long House, took about five hours and covered nearly seven miles. But it was an easy walk with a lot of amazing sights and was very educational. Well worth the time. Here’s the link to the photos from our hike around Wetherill Mesa and down to Step House and the Ramblr Track for our walk around Wetherill Mesa. The composite route (guided and self-guided tours) is shown below.
The drive back to Far View Lodge took less than 30 minutes. We basically had the road to ourselves. It was now a very lovely day and quite nice for a drive. The sunlight really brought out the beautiful colors with the scrub oak in the valleys. The trees are not impression in terms of size but they throw a variety of color in the fall. Patches of red, orange, gold, yellow, rust and green dotted the hillsides and shallow canyons along the road. We also spotted an interesting tree near the road but this had nothing to do with fall colors. The trunk of this tree had been shredded, that is the bark was just torn off. Our guess was that a bear was the culprit.
I did have an epiphany of sorts during the drive back. That goofy tune that our neighbors were singing the other night was stuck in my head but I finally recognized where I had heard it. Most of the words still escaped me, but the tune was one we sung in Cub Scouts, but I did remember something like “to look sharp be a den 2 scout” and ended with “we’re the best den in the U.S.A.” so I at least had a clue to work on. Once we were home I did a little searching on finally figured out that the tune came from a Gillette razor blade ad jiggle, “Look Sharp, Be Sharp.” Between Google and YouTube I knew that the answer had to be out there, and here it is.
We spent the afternoon on the balcony, just enjoying the beautiful vista and a beer. Well, I had beer, as Lynn still had some wine to finish. I worked on the notes from today and Lynn read the Hillerman mystery she had purchased at the gift shop. We complied our list of critter sightings for today and talked a bit about the plans for tomorrow. But mostly we just sat and took in the peace of the National Park.
I did have an epiphany of sorts during the drive back. That goofy tune that our neighbors were singing the other night was stuck in my head but I finally recognized where I had heard it. Most of the words still escaped me, but the tune was one we sung in Cub Scouts, but I did remember something like “to look sharp be a den 2 scout” and ended with “we’re the best den in the U.S.A.” so I at least had a clue to work on. Once we were home I did a little searching on finally figured out that the tune came from a Gillette razor blade ad jiggle, “Look Sharp, Be Sharp.” Between Google and YouTube I knew that the answer had to be out there, and here it is.
We spent the afternoon on the balcony, just enjoying the beautiful vista and a beer. Well, I had beer, as Lynn still had some wine to finish. I worked on the notes from today and Lynn read the Hillerman mystery she had purchased at the gift shop. We complied our list of critter sightings for today and talked a bit about the plans for tomorrow. But mostly we just sat and took in the peace of the National Park.
As the plan for tomorrow, my going in thought was that perhaps we could check out Yucca House National Monument after leaving Mesa Verde although it would be detour on our way to Moab. After reviewing the route to Yucca House we opted to skip it. With directions like "head toward the ranch house with the red roof" and "make sure to close all gates behind you to ensure no cattle escape," well, it just seemed like more than we wanted to deal with for the end of the trip. Yeah, I know, where's our sense of adventure?! So with Yucca House off the list, we’ll do a little more exploring here in Mesa Verde in the morning, including swinging by the gift shop on Chapin Mesa then get on the road for Moab. No rush as we have no plans for tomorrow in Moab other than maybe a walk through town and dinner at one of our many favorite restaurants.
We went for dinner in the lounge at a little after 5:00. There were several Robins flitting about the area plus we saw a few little-bitty chipmunks on the grounds along our short walk to the registration building. Not sure what these were but they were very small for a chipper. I stopped by registration and requested a delayed check-out just to give us a little more relaxed schedule in the morning. They were able to push check-out back an hour to noon. That should be just fine.
It is inconceivable that we have been out here for a week and I have not scored an excellent southwest meal other than Howie's outstanding fish tacos. Granted there have been good meals but little in the way of that southwest heat and flavor that I so enjoy. To try and rectify that situation, I selected the pork belly tacos tonight. Pork belly, ain’t that just bacon? I guess not really, but sort of. Anyway, these scored pretty well on the southwest scale.
We went for dinner in the lounge at a little after 5:00. There were several Robins flitting about the area plus we saw a few little-bitty chipmunks on the grounds along our short walk to the registration building. Not sure what these were but they were very small for a chipper. I stopped by registration and requested a delayed check-out just to give us a little more relaxed schedule in the morning. They were able to push check-out back an hour to noon. That should be just fine.
It is inconceivable that we have been out here for a week and I have not scored an excellent southwest meal other than Howie's outstanding fish tacos. Granted there have been good meals but little in the way of that southwest heat and flavor that I so enjoy. To try and rectify that situation, I selected the pork belly tacos tonight. Pork belly, ain’t that just bacon? I guess not really, but sort of. Anyway, these scored pretty well on the southwest scale.
After dinner we just walked back to our room. Things were winding down for the evening here at Mesa Verde. The last critter sighting for the day was sort of a nondescript moth clinging to the exterior wall right next to the room number sign going into our room. It was really nothing special, not particularly pretty and certainly not very colorful, but since it was willing to pose I snapped a photo just so I could make an identification of it once we got home. Easier said than done as it turned out.
We were back on the balcony after dinner to watch the sunset. While we had a clear sky for the most part (amazing after the cloud cover from this morning), the moon does not set until about 2 AM so doubtful that we’ll have a grand celestial view. But sunrise is not until 0719 tomorrow morning so we might get some star time that. I was checking the times on the web (technology can be such a wonderful thing) and since I had the website open I checked Glacier moon times for next August. Unfortunately the news was less than ideal, but that’s my fault for not working that into the planning. Oh, well. The good news is that I have already worked our next Yellowstone and Grand Teton trip dates to incorporate the New Moon, so I did not completely miss the boat.
We were back on the balcony after dinner to watch the sunset. While we had a clear sky for the most part (amazing after the cloud cover from this morning), the moon does not set until about 2 AM so doubtful that we’ll have a grand celestial view. But sunrise is not until 0719 tomorrow morning so we might get some star time that. I was checking the times on the web (technology can be such a wonderful thing) and since I had the website open I checked Glacier moon times for next August. Unfortunately the news was less than ideal, but that’s my fault for not working that into the planning. Oh, well. The good news is that I have already worked our next Yellowstone and Grand Teton trip dates to incorporate the New Moon, so I did not completely miss the boat.
Day 9 - Wednesday, October 12 – Mesa Verde to Moab. I was awake about 0430. A great thing about the rooms at Far View Lodge is the picture window with the great vista right from the bed. I could tell that the skies had cleared overnight and that there was a wonderful light show of stars filling the heavens. I braved the chill of the morning air and crept outside for a better look. The view from the balcony was lovely. The stars did not quite stretch down to touch the horizon like the night sky we got at Sequoia or Yellowstone, but it was close. There was just a bit of light pollution out in the distance that marred the view but overhead was just a field of black speckled with bright points of light. The only drawback on the balcony was that the full sky was not in view due to the roof overhang which limited the range of sight. I tried my luck on the other side of the building, after slinking quietly back through the room as to not disturb Lynn. No good out in the parking lot as there were just too many lights. As it was brisk this morning, I quickly retreated into the room and back under the covers to get warm.
Once the sun came up, we rolled out of bed for good and started getting ready for the day. I was back out on the balcony to greet the morning. Again it was very peaceful with no traffic on the park road below the lodge and silence from our neighbors. From my earlier jaunt into the parking lot for the star check it seemed that we were nowhere near a full house based on the number of cars. All this just meant that it was easier to enjoy the solitude and hear the sounds of nature waking for the day. There was one sound in particular that caught my ear, a sharp, single note that repeated over a few seconds, paused then started over. This toot-toot-toot-toot had to be an owl of some sort, but which one. I sat on the balcony for a while longer, intently listening to the message this lone bird was sending, but having no idea what it meant. Once the call ceased, I thought I would have a go at the Internet since there tended to be better connectivity early before everyone else logged in. OK, Google, let's see what you can find for owl calls and owls of the southwest US. In short order I had a very likely identification, the Northern Pygmy Owl. The sound of the toot I heard was identical to the example I found on the net, at least to my untrained ear, but the frequency of the call was just a little quicker than the recording. Still, this was by far the closest of the recorded calls that I checked. The range of this owl extended through the southwest corner of Colorado, so that seemed to check out as well. Pretty cool.
Once the sun came up, we rolled out of bed for good and started getting ready for the day. I was back out on the balcony to greet the morning. Again it was very peaceful with no traffic on the park road below the lodge and silence from our neighbors. From my earlier jaunt into the parking lot for the star check it seemed that we were nowhere near a full house based on the number of cars. All this just meant that it was easier to enjoy the solitude and hear the sounds of nature waking for the day. There was one sound in particular that caught my ear, a sharp, single note that repeated over a few seconds, paused then started over. This toot-toot-toot-toot had to be an owl of some sort, but which one. I sat on the balcony for a while longer, intently listening to the message this lone bird was sending, but having no idea what it meant. Once the call ceased, I thought I would have a go at the Internet since there tended to be better connectivity early before everyone else logged in. OK, Google, let's see what you can find for owl calls and owls of the southwest US. In short order I had a very likely identification, the Northern Pygmy Owl. The sound of the toot I heard was identical to the example I found on the net, at least to my untrained ear, but the frequency of the call was just a little quicker than the recording. Still, this was by far the closest of the recorded calls that I checked. The range of this owl extended through the southwest corner of Colorado, so that seemed to check out as well. Pretty cool.
We walked over to the registration building for breakfast at 0745. The place was packed. Where did all these folks come from? We quickly reviewed our options but this is the only game in town so we stuck it out. The wait was only a few minutes to get seated in the Metate Room. The shorthanded staff is working hard as there are more visitors here for the time of year than normal. So all things considered the service was good. The offering today was a buffet. The tourists were eating faster than the kitchen could cook as there were a number of empty pans and plates when we made our pass through the line. The good news was that we found enough to fill the tank for the morning. The food was lackluster, but beggars can't be choosers. But it was hot and filling even if the French toast was a bit chewy.
After breakfast we walked back to the room to get organized for the day. We are moving on from Mesa Verde to Moab for our last two nights of the trip, but we still have some time to look around this morning. Besides Lynn wanted to check out the gift store at Chapin Mesa one last time. We started the packing, but since I had requested a delayed checkout we were not in rush to get all our stuff gathered up. We put packing on hiatus about 8:45 and started for gift shop at Spruce Tree Terrace.
The morning was turning out to be quite nice with a bright blue and cloudless sky, just a hint of a breeze and the temperature was already warmer than yesterday (it was 52 F when we started but climbed into the mid-60s by mid-morning). Nearly perfect for a little more exploring in Mesa Verde. We were not on the road to Chapin Mesa long before we saw a car pulled halfway off the road with a tourist pointing a long camera off into the trees. I wonder what he thinks he sees? I slowed down as we passed. He does see something, a good size bull elk grazing not far from the road. The big guy had no interest in modeling it seemed as he had his head down and his big, white butt pointed at the photographer. Typical wildlife shot. We just slowly rolled by as there really was no place to safely pull over. No need to cause an animal jam. But we did check the elk box for the trip.
We arrived at the Spruce Tree gift shop just before 0900, so we were a bit early for the shop hours, or so we thought. Turns out that they had just adjusted to the fall hours of operation so opening time was now 10:00 AM. No worries, we have the time. We drove back up the park road and checked out a couple sites that we had missed during our exploring the past couple days.
After breakfast we walked back to the room to get organized for the day. We are moving on from Mesa Verde to Moab for our last two nights of the trip, but we still have some time to look around this morning. Besides Lynn wanted to check out the gift store at Chapin Mesa one last time. We started the packing, but since I had requested a delayed checkout we were not in rush to get all our stuff gathered up. We put packing on hiatus about 8:45 and started for gift shop at Spruce Tree Terrace.
The morning was turning out to be quite nice with a bright blue and cloudless sky, just a hint of a breeze and the temperature was already warmer than yesterday (it was 52 F when we started but climbed into the mid-60s by mid-morning). Nearly perfect for a little more exploring in Mesa Verde. We were not on the road to Chapin Mesa long before we saw a car pulled halfway off the road with a tourist pointing a long camera off into the trees. I wonder what he thinks he sees? I slowed down as we passed. He does see something, a good size bull elk grazing not far from the road. The big guy had no interest in modeling it seemed as he had his head down and his big, white butt pointed at the photographer. Typical wildlife shot. We just slowly rolled by as there really was no place to safely pull over. No need to cause an animal jam. But we did check the elk box for the trip.
We arrived at the Spruce Tree gift shop just before 0900, so we were a bit early for the shop hours, or so we thought. Turns out that they had just adjusted to the fall hours of operation so opening time was now 10:00 AM. No worries, we have the time. We drove back up the park road and checked out a couple sites that we had missed during our exploring the past couple days.
The first stop was at Cedar Tree Tower. We spotted two Ute ponies along the access road, a dark bay stud and an interesting brown, grey, white mix. They watched us approach then ambled off into the scrubby forest of oaks and dead pinions and were soon gone from sight even though they probably were not far from the road. A short distance up the road we reached the small ruin site of a tower and kiva. The marker at the site indicate that there are towers like this found scattered across Mesa Verde but there is a question as to their purpose. Speculation is that they were used for observation, communication or as ceremonial sites, like the example we saw on Wetherill Mesa of the tower connected to a kiva via a tunnel. Maybe a tower like Cedar Tree Tower provide a lofty location for significant social events.
Only a few minutes were needed to look around Cedar Tree Tower then we climbed back into the Rav4 and drove a little further north to the Far View Community sites. This was not exactly what I was expecting. In the area were four or five ruin sites of the ancient Pueblo culture when the people lived on the mesa top. I guess it was really very similar to the Badger House Community we saw yesterday on Wetherill Mesa but the communities must have been larger as the remains of the pueblos are much more extensive and to me at least provide a more complete story.
We started by walking out the trail to Megalithic House and by the reservoir. We probably should have started by looking around Far View House first to get the overall lay of the land and the picture view from the signage, but in the in the end we still saw all the sites and read the available information so it worked out fine. We walked to each of the sites at Far View, but as a couple of out-and-back walks rather than along the loop path as shown in the map; total distance was a little over a mile. As we walked through the various sites, the larger pueblos, the family homes, tower and reservoir, and read the available information we got a much better understanding of how the Ancestral Pueblo people lived here on the mesa. Much of the early information from Far View Community was collected in 1922 when the community was excavated and studied by Dr. Jesse Fewkes working for the Smithsonian Institution. Here’s the list of highlights and information from the accompanying signage that we came across as we walked the easy trail connecting the various ruin sites:
Only a few minutes were needed to look around Cedar Tree Tower then we climbed back into the Rav4 and drove a little further north to the Far View Community sites. This was not exactly what I was expecting. In the area were four or five ruin sites of the ancient Pueblo culture when the people lived on the mesa top. I guess it was really very similar to the Badger House Community we saw yesterday on Wetherill Mesa but the communities must have been larger as the remains of the pueblos are much more extensive and to me at least provide a more complete story.
We started by walking out the trail to Megalithic House and by the reservoir. We probably should have started by looking around Far View House first to get the overall lay of the land and the picture view from the signage, but in the in the end we still saw all the sites and read the available information so it worked out fine. We walked to each of the sites at Far View, but as a couple of out-and-back walks rather than along the loop path as shown in the map; total distance was a little over a mile. As we walked through the various sites, the larger pueblos, the family homes, tower and reservoir, and read the available information we got a much better understanding of how the Ancestral Pueblo people lived here on the mesa. Much of the early information from Far View Community was collected in 1922 when the community was excavated and studied by Dr. Jesse Fewkes working for the Smithsonian Institution. Here’s the list of highlights and information from the accompanying signage that we came across as we walked the easy trail connecting the various ruin sites:
- The first site we came to as we went north from the parking area was a small pueblo with a tower which was at the heart of the Far View farming community. One of the themes that started with the signage here at the tower was the labor intensive life of the Ancestral Pueblo people. Here the specific example was farming. While the soil on this part of the mesa is deep and fertile, the ancient inhabitants worked continually to improve their land. They built hundreds of check dams to catch and retain water that was vital for their crops.
- The two-story tower at this site was built about AD 1200. There are at least 60 such towers in the archeological sites in Mesa Verde. Many of these towers provided excellent views of the surrounding countryside. When Far View Village was inhabited and heavily cultivated most of the trees would have be cut for fuel and building materials, so this tower may have offered the residents great views of the entire community as well as the communities beyond.
- A little further north along the trail was the site of one of the reservoirs that Ranger Kim discussed yesterday. Far View reservoir was a huge community project that was built in at least two phases beginning in about AD 900. The interior diameter of the reservoir is 90 feet and the site includes embankment, and other related structures. Building the reservoir would have required and enormous amount of time and energy from the entire community.
- In 2004, reservoir was designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. The citation reads: Prehistoric Mesa Verde Reservoirs – Mesa Verde’s Industrious Ancestral Puebloans designed, constructed, and maintained Morefield, Box Elder, Far View and Sagebrush Reservoirs for domestic water storage between A.D. 750 and 1180.
- At the far end of the trail is Megalithic House, which was a family home. The site was protected by a metal shed like those were used to cover other mesa top ruins in the park. This small collection of rooms was probably home to one extended family. Megalithic House consists of several living and storage rooms surrounding a kiva and courtyard. This type of structure is known as a “unit pueblo” and represents a typical family home of the late AD 1100s. Many families lived in similar small pueblos nearby and throughout the region. In addition to cultivating garden plots of corn, beans and squash, the ancient farmers also raised turkeys for their feathers, bones and meat, and kept small domesticated dogs.
- Only about half of Megalithic House is visible today. Leaving a structure unexcavated or backfilling it after study protects the site from exposure and deterioration.
- When Dr. Fewkes excavated the site in 1922, he believed the “megaliths” – large stones used at the base of some of the walls – were unusual. Later archeologists discovered that the ancient builders often used large flat stones, possible because they reduced the number of individual stones needed.
- One of the interesting observations on the information signs dealt with the construction prowess of the ancient inhabitants of Mesa Verde. The Ancestral Pueblo people were sophisticated builders using the simplest of technology. Without worked metal, they used stone, wood, bone and leather to make digging tools, axes, knives and small tools for fine work. Without beasts of burden or wheeled vehicles, they carried tons of stone, soil and water by hand to build elaborate multi-story buildings. With simple surveying tools, they often aligned structures with the cardinal directions, local landmarks and celestial events.
- We retraced the trail back to the large pueblo adjacent to the parking area, Far View House. This was where the introduction to the community was written: Long before the famous cliff dwellings were built, the area around you was a well-established Ancestral Puebloan farming community supporting dozens of families. Starting around AD 800, Ancestral Pueblo people lived here for several centuries, farming the deep mesa-top soils, building their homes, and raising their families. This was not always a quiet woodland walk. On a summer day in AD 1050, this ancient community would have been filled with the smell of juniper smoke and the sounds of everyday life: conversations between people working together, barking dogs, laughing children, ravens calling overhead, and the wind rustling through the shiny corn leaves.
- The Far View are was one of the most densely populated regions of Mesa Verde. In the mid-1100s, there may have been at least 35 occupied villages and surrounding farm and garden plots within a half-square mile area.
- At the center of the community was Far View House. Far View House and Pipe Shrine House were both built around AD 1000. Unexcavated sites nearby suggest that this may have been the center of the community. Picture a network of busy footpaths between structures, used by people carrying fuelwood or pots of water into the pueblos, children running errands for their parents, and village leaders stopping to talk.
- Far View House was the largest building in the Far View Community, with at least 40 rooms on the ground floor and about 30 rooms on the second story. The specialized architectural features of Far View House indicate that it was the central structure at the heart of the village, referred to as a Great House. Many similar Great Houses have been found throughout the region. Great Houses are massive buildings with large rooms built around one or more enclosed kivas. Often the doorways align and a special type of masonry was used. There is sometimes a great kiva nearby. Unlike most residential pueblos or later cliff dwellings, where people often added individual rooms when needed and in a somewhat haphazard manner, Great Houses seem to have been built following a plan. Like Far View House, they usually occupy a prominent place in the landscape.
- Pipe Shrine House was named by Dr. Fewkes. His workers found “a full dozen decorated tobacco pipes” and some small carved stone figures and pottery in an enclosure in one of the kivas, which Dr. Fewkes interpreted as a religious shrine.
- The signage at Pipe Shrine House also talked about the farming techniques and cultural connections that the people living in Mesa Verde had to the general population of the Four Corners area. The people all used similar dry farming techniques and were further connected through trade between the many villages in the region. Anthropologists estimate that more people lived in the valley surrounding Mesa Verde in the Ancestral Puebloan times than live here today.
- There was additional information on the farming techniques used by the ancient inhabitants. The weather and vegetation observed today is not too different from what the Ancestral Pueblo people experienced. Like today’s local farmers, the ancient people used dryland farming techniques, which do not include irrigation. Successful dryland farmers plant crops that are adapted to relatively dry conditions and plant seed in spring when the soil is damp from snow melt. Then they wait for summer rains to provide all the moisture needed for their crops to grow. This ties back to information provided by Rangers Beth and Kim about the importance of growing and storing surplus crops to allow the people to survive times of drought when their gardens would not have been able to support their needs.
- We made a loop around Pipe Shrine House looking at the details of the construction. We did locate the stone carved with a spiral pattern that was highlighted on one of the signs. Likewise we spotted some of the other architectural details, like the alignment of doorways that make Far View House a Great House.
- Our last stop was Coyote Village, another rather sizable pueblo site located along the trail a little to the southwest of Far View and Pipe Shrine Houses. Like most of the homes and villages in the Far View Community, Coyote Village was constructed long before Mesa Verde’s famous cliff dwellings. Starting before AD 975, Coyote Village was built, occupied, abandoned, rebuilt and reoccupied several times. Each time the people returned, they reused some of the stones and timbers, adding to or remodeling rooms their ancestors had built. Some of the kivas in Coyote Village were built with a recess that gives them a “keyhole” shape, when viewed from above. Others do not. “Keyhole” kivas are common in Mesa Verde sites, and may indicate a local style that people came to prefer in the AD 1200s. One of the kivas here was connected to the tower by an underground tunnel. There were examples of mealing bins, where corn and seeds were ground. In addition to these points from the signs around the site, we also spotted more carved stones in the construction of the pueblo.
Cruising south along the Chapin Mesa road we got a couple bonus critter sightings. First we spotted a small band of coyotes trotting along in the oncoming lane of the road. There were four or five that we could see. We slowed to a crawl then stopped to let the big canines safely pass by. They exited the road very near us and continued into the shrubs as they patrolled the mesa. A little further down the road there was a bit of a bottleneck with a couple cars in both lanes slowed to look at something. Well, so far we’ve seen an elf and some coyotes, what could be the cause of this critter jam? Turkeys. A nice size flock right along the road but in the scrubby undergrowth so sort of hard to see. We rolled by slowly for safety sake but just kept going as to not add to the confusion.
No further delays so we were soon at the Spruce Tree Terrace gift shop. While Lynn looked around, I took the opportunity to check out a book about the animal life in the region to try and idea some of the critters that we had spotted. Let’s start with the butterfly we just saw. There is it, a Morning Cloak. The pretty orange bug on Lynn’s camera following our Petroglyph Point hike was a Leaf-footed Bug. Oddly, I could not find anything about the moth we spotted at the lodge last night. I reckon I’ll just have to keep searching for that one. Lynn finished her shopping. I added a hat to her small pile of loot (OK, she just bought one thing), then we were back on the road to the lodge.
Back at the lodge, we were quickly packed, loaded and checked out. We were driving north toward the park entrance at 10:50, so we did not really need the delayed check-out, but with it we had a much more relaxed time this morning. We enjoyed the drive back to the park entrance and after about 30 minutes we were pulling into the lot at the visitor center. I wandered about the grounds for a few minutes while Lynn headed inside. The area around the visitor center provided some view nice views with a wide range of colors; the brilliant blue sky with scattered white clouds providing the backdrop for the green, gold, rust, orange and yellow of the trees, shrubs and fall flowers covering the plain, hillsides and buttes. After taking a few photos of the lovely views, I headed on inside the visitor center.
No further delays so we were soon at the Spruce Tree Terrace gift shop. While Lynn looked around, I took the opportunity to check out a book about the animal life in the region to try and idea some of the critters that we had spotted. Let’s start with the butterfly we just saw. There is it, a Morning Cloak. The pretty orange bug on Lynn’s camera following our Petroglyph Point hike was a Leaf-footed Bug. Oddly, I could not find anything about the moth we spotted at the lodge last night. I reckon I’ll just have to keep searching for that one. Lynn finished her shopping. I added a hat to her small pile of loot (OK, she just bought one thing), then we were back on the road to the lodge.
Back at the lodge, we were quickly packed, loaded and checked out. We were driving north toward the park entrance at 10:50, so we did not really need the delayed check-out, but with it we had a much more relaxed time this morning. We enjoyed the drive back to the park entrance and after about 30 minutes we were pulling into the lot at the visitor center. I wandered about the grounds for a few minutes while Lynn headed inside. The area around the visitor center provided some view nice views with a wide range of colors; the brilliant blue sky with scattered white clouds providing the backdrop for the green, gold, rust, orange and yellow of the trees, shrubs and fall flowers covering the plain, hillsides and buttes. After taking a few photos of the lovely views, I headed on inside the visitor center.
Once inside, I meandered about the educational displays where I caught up with Lynn. We finished surveying the displays then made a final pass through the gift shop. I decided to get the National Park Centennial hoodie that I had spotted when we arrived. I also picked up a pamphlet with the list of birds in the park. Speaking of birds, on the way back to the parking lot Lynn spotted a very large bird soaring off over the prairie to the north. We watched the bird continue to circle overhead but it was moving further away, but we’re still pretty certain that it was a Golden Eagle. We had one more stop to make as we headed out of the park, our passport photo at the park entrance sigh. Can’t miss that! The trip isn’t official without that photo. Then, at 11:40 AM, we were moving on to Moab.
I asked “Baby” for directions, mainly just to make sure we stayed on track through Cortez. The route is really very straight forward. From Cortez we looped northwest on US 491 to Monticello where we picked up US 191 north into Moab. Part of the drive was new territory for us, once we about a third of the way up 491 passed where we tied in from our route from Hovenweep back on Sunday. We entertained ourselves just by enjoying the scenery as we drove along. Again, like the drive from Hovenweep, there were a lot more farming along route 491 than I was expecting, particularly hay operations. Looks like they had a good years as there were plenty of the big square bales. Of course we kept an eye out for wildlife and spotted several hawks along the drive, most of them perched on the power lines along the road either napping or watching for a snack to go scurrying by. We also encountered a lot of skunks on the road. All deceased, unfortunately for those stinky varmints. Neither Lynn no I recalled having ever seen this many (or any, for that matter) road kill skunks during our tours in the Grand Circle. As we got near to Monticello, we saw the wind farm spread along the slopes on the far side of town. There were 25 or so of the huge, three-bladed windmills. Most of them slowly spinning in the breeze. Being engineers I guess we just can’t help our geekiness and timed the rotation of the blades. Seems that they were spinning at about 10 to 12 RPM.
Of course we also reviewed our time in Mesa Verde as we drove north. From the reading that I did before the trip, it seems that many people make this a one-night or at most two-night stop. Sure, we probably could have squeezed the highlights into a day, but that would have made for a rushed trip. Spending three nights in the park and dedicating a day each to Chapin Mesa and Wetherill Mesa so that we had a more relaxed schedule really fit our style. We had plenty of time to enjoy and earn about the historic sites and also still had some down time each day which is an important part of our trips. So for us three nights was perfect. I little planning goes a long way. Lynn thinks that my planning is pure dumb luck.
The drive to Moab was easy. The prettiest scenery was on route 191 and it got better the further north we went. We used this time to talk about options for things to do on during our short stay. The main even for tomorrow was the primary topic. We decided to keep it relatively simple and hike to the Eye of the Whale Arch since getting to the trailhead is a whole lot easier compared to the back road driving required for Covert Arch. We’ll save that one for our next visit. We were cruising into Moab right about 1:45, so just at two hours from Mesa Verde with no stops along the way. I had been watching the outside air temperature gage on the dashboard and it had been slowly rising since we left Mesa Verde (about 65 F when we left and the temperature pushed into the 80s along the drive, but it settled in at 75 F when we arrived in Moab). We were early for check-in at Westside Flats so we had time to run a few errands. First I fed the Rav4 then we stopped for a breakfast supplies at the Village Market (I’ll have to look for a better grocery store for our next long stay), then the State Store to restock our dwindling beer supply. Since we had all our gear in the car, I stood watch while Lynn went in for groceries, then we swapped roles for the beer selection. The State Store has added a “build your own six-pack” option, as you can basically pick and choose a beer or two from any of the available options. Bonus! Of course that made this stop last a little longer, as I had to deliberate over all the choices. The proverbial kid in a candy store. I created an IPA variety pack of beers that we had not tried previously. Lots of options. I did have to get the Hop Ottin’ from Anderson Valley Brewing Company out of Booneville, CA, just for the label, thinking Lynn might get a kick out of it. I guess the bear with antlers is the mascot for this microbrewery.
I asked “Baby” for directions, mainly just to make sure we stayed on track through Cortez. The route is really very straight forward. From Cortez we looped northwest on US 491 to Monticello where we picked up US 191 north into Moab. Part of the drive was new territory for us, once we about a third of the way up 491 passed where we tied in from our route from Hovenweep back on Sunday. We entertained ourselves just by enjoying the scenery as we drove along. Again, like the drive from Hovenweep, there were a lot more farming along route 491 than I was expecting, particularly hay operations. Looks like they had a good years as there were plenty of the big square bales. Of course we kept an eye out for wildlife and spotted several hawks along the drive, most of them perched on the power lines along the road either napping or watching for a snack to go scurrying by. We also encountered a lot of skunks on the road. All deceased, unfortunately for those stinky varmints. Neither Lynn no I recalled having ever seen this many (or any, for that matter) road kill skunks during our tours in the Grand Circle. As we got near to Monticello, we saw the wind farm spread along the slopes on the far side of town. There were 25 or so of the huge, three-bladed windmills. Most of them slowly spinning in the breeze. Being engineers I guess we just can’t help our geekiness and timed the rotation of the blades. Seems that they were spinning at about 10 to 12 RPM.
Of course we also reviewed our time in Mesa Verde as we drove north. From the reading that I did before the trip, it seems that many people make this a one-night or at most two-night stop. Sure, we probably could have squeezed the highlights into a day, but that would have made for a rushed trip. Spending three nights in the park and dedicating a day each to Chapin Mesa and Wetherill Mesa so that we had a more relaxed schedule really fit our style. We had plenty of time to enjoy and earn about the historic sites and also still had some down time each day which is an important part of our trips. So for us three nights was perfect. I little planning goes a long way. Lynn thinks that my planning is pure dumb luck.
The drive to Moab was easy. The prettiest scenery was on route 191 and it got better the further north we went. We used this time to talk about options for things to do on during our short stay. The main even for tomorrow was the primary topic. We decided to keep it relatively simple and hike to the Eye of the Whale Arch since getting to the trailhead is a whole lot easier compared to the back road driving required for Covert Arch. We’ll save that one for our next visit. We were cruising into Moab right about 1:45, so just at two hours from Mesa Verde with no stops along the way. I had been watching the outside air temperature gage on the dashboard and it had been slowly rising since we left Mesa Verde (about 65 F when we left and the temperature pushed into the 80s along the drive, but it settled in at 75 F when we arrived in Moab). We were early for check-in at Westside Flats so we had time to run a few errands. First I fed the Rav4 then we stopped for a breakfast supplies at the Village Market (I’ll have to look for a better grocery store for our next long stay), then the State Store to restock our dwindling beer supply. Since we had all our gear in the car, I stood watch while Lynn went in for groceries, then we swapped roles for the beer selection. The State Store has added a “build your own six-pack” option, as you can basically pick and choose a beer or two from any of the available options. Bonus! Of course that made this stop last a little longer, as I had to deliberate over all the choices. The proverbial kid in a candy store. I created an IPA variety pack of beers that we had not tried previously. Lots of options. I did have to get the Hop Ottin’ from Anderson Valley Brewing Company out of Booneville, CA, just for the label, thinking Lynn might get a kick out of it. I guess the bear with antlers is the mascot for this microbrewery.
Our errands took a little bit of time, so it was about 2:30 when we arrived at Westview Flats. Still a little early but we figured close enough. We met the owner, Mike, when we pulled in. He said the Paradox Flat was all ready to go for us. Groovy! We chatted briefly then unloaded our stuff and were on the back patio with beer in had by 2:45. Life is good.
After our little break on the back patio (which is one of the many reasons we stay at Westview Flats), we made a lap around downtown Moab so that Lynn could check out her favorite shops and to could get the hours for our dining options. Surprisingly, shopping did not take that long as we only hit a very few shops. We decided on Miguel's for dinner but since it did not open until 5:00 we had a little more time to kill and headed back to the flat (another reason we like the place as it is a very short walk from the main drag). Besides I needed to swap out of my sunglasses. As we were walking back to the flat, we passed one of the many Jeep rental places in town. One of those might be a solution for getting out to Covert Arch, if we don’t want to risk a more standard rental car.
We were soon back out on the back patio, beer in hand (I see a trend starting). We chatted some more with Mike as he was grilling his dinner (he lives in the flat adjacent to the one we were staying in). He gave us some details for our hike to Eye of the Whale Arch and even loaned us a map for the hike. He has hiked in that area several times and said that the Herdina Park is a great area to explore. He also told us that there is another large arch in that area and provided the general directions from Eye of the Whale to the other arch. That should make for a nice little excursion. We also got some other good local knowledge regarding grocery stores which will be useful for our next visit.
At 5:00 we headed out again for dinner. Our first stop was at Desert Bistro to make reservations for tomorrow evening (locked in for 5:30). Then we looped back around to Miguel’s Baja Grill, one of our favorites. There are actually several great places to eat in Moab, but with only two nights in town this trip we can’t hit them all, so we stuck the places that we could walk to since we had such a convenient lodging location. We arrived at Miguel's just ahead of the rush, but getting there just in time meant that we got a table in the outside seating area which was very pleasant then evening. We had the house margarita for something different. Lynn had the carne asada tacos while I went with a scallop dinner with a southwest flare. Very good. Plus I ate the grilled jalapeños to add some big heat. Lynn gave me her pepper as well. The more heat the better! The service was great. Overall, a very nice meal.
We were back at the flat a little after 6:30. One more beer on the back patio. I tried the Hop Ottin’, the one with the interesting label. It was good but not great; I found it to be too malty particularly for an IPA. We just chilled the rest of the evening and finally went inside once the sun set. Turned the TV on for the first time all week…well Lynn turned it on. We watched a BBC mystery "Death in Paradise" which was a character set we have not seen. Entertaining but sort of the standard murder mystery formula, just a new location. But it was entertaining, so I’ll call that good enough.
Day 10 - Thursday, October 13 - Eye-of-the-Whale Arch. Our last full day in the desert southwest and we are up early at 0500 to get a jump on the day. A light, leisurely breakfast, then we grabbed our gear and jumped in the Rav4 for at 0720 for the short drive to Arches National Park. No traffic to speak of in Moab and no significant delays at the park entrance. There were a fair number of folks coming into the park for sunrise photos. Some stopped at Park Avenue, others along the road paralleling the Great Wall and I’m guessing some were turning out toward the Windows Section. But we veered left to the parking area for the picnic area on Willow Flats Road, directly opposite Balanced Rock, arriving about 0735. The lot was empty when we pulled in. Looks like a lovely day in the making and the temperature was starting to creep up (44 F when we left Westview Flats and now up to 54 F). The sky was clear. Looks like a great day for a hike. But it was still chilly enough at the moment that the fleece was in play for the start of the hike. We donned our daypacks and our wide-brimmed hats and were on the trail at 7:40.
The trail today was the dirt roads that cut across Willow Flats leading to the park boundary. We started our going generally west along the Willow Flats Road. This road was in great shape and we could have easily driven the Rav4 on it. There was a wide spot right at the intersection of this road and the 4WD track so we could have driven to that point and parked thus trimming some distance from the hike, but we were looking for a longer trail today as we were below our mileage quote for the trip. The Ramblr track had us at 6.9 miles total, with about five miles along the 4WD road. Once on the 4WD track, I think the Rav4 would have made it about a hundred yards before crying uncle as there was serious ruts and rocks to negotiate.
This turned out to be a great hike. I’m glad we got an early start as the trail is totally exposed. There is not a stitch of shade to be found between the parking area and Herdina Park other than that under the wide brim of my Tilly hiking hat. But while it was very sunny, we were comfortable in the cook morning air. But being out in the open meant that we could see for miles on all directions. From the trailhead looking east were the La Sals, the Windows Section and Balanced Rock, but this view was looking right into the morning sun. Once we got out up the little rise at the start of the walk along the Willow Flats Road, our destination, Herdina Park, was in view most of the rest of the way. The vista to the northeast of the 4WD road looked out over Salt Valley, the Fiery Furnace and the sandstone fins and structures extending toward the Devils Garden. We could clearly see Skyline Arch along the upper right of this section of red rocks.
After our little break on the back patio (which is one of the many reasons we stay at Westview Flats), we made a lap around downtown Moab so that Lynn could check out her favorite shops and to could get the hours for our dining options. Surprisingly, shopping did not take that long as we only hit a very few shops. We decided on Miguel's for dinner but since it did not open until 5:00 we had a little more time to kill and headed back to the flat (another reason we like the place as it is a very short walk from the main drag). Besides I needed to swap out of my sunglasses. As we were walking back to the flat, we passed one of the many Jeep rental places in town. One of those might be a solution for getting out to Covert Arch, if we don’t want to risk a more standard rental car.
We were soon back out on the back patio, beer in hand (I see a trend starting). We chatted some more with Mike as he was grilling his dinner (he lives in the flat adjacent to the one we were staying in). He gave us some details for our hike to Eye of the Whale Arch and even loaned us a map for the hike. He has hiked in that area several times and said that the Herdina Park is a great area to explore. He also told us that there is another large arch in that area and provided the general directions from Eye of the Whale to the other arch. That should make for a nice little excursion. We also got some other good local knowledge regarding grocery stores which will be useful for our next visit.
At 5:00 we headed out again for dinner. Our first stop was at Desert Bistro to make reservations for tomorrow evening (locked in for 5:30). Then we looped back around to Miguel’s Baja Grill, one of our favorites. There are actually several great places to eat in Moab, but with only two nights in town this trip we can’t hit them all, so we stuck the places that we could walk to since we had such a convenient lodging location. We arrived at Miguel's just ahead of the rush, but getting there just in time meant that we got a table in the outside seating area which was very pleasant then evening. We had the house margarita for something different. Lynn had the carne asada tacos while I went with a scallop dinner with a southwest flare. Very good. Plus I ate the grilled jalapeños to add some big heat. Lynn gave me her pepper as well. The more heat the better! The service was great. Overall, a very nice meal.
We were back at the flat a little after 6:30. One more beer on the back patio. I tried the Hop Ottin’, the one with the interesting label. It was good but not great; I found it to be too malty particularly for an IPA. We just chilled the rest of the evening and finally went inside once the sun set. Turned the TV on for the first time all week…well Lynn turned it on. We watched a BBC mystery "Death in Paradise" which was a character set we have not seen. Entertaining but sort of the standard murder mystery formula, just a new location. But it was entertaining, so I’ll call that good enough.
Day 10 - Thursday, October 13 - Eye-of-the-Whale Arch. Our last full day in the desert southwest and we are up early at 0500 to get a jump on the day. A light, leisurely breakfast, then we grabbed our gear and jumped in the Rav4 for at 0720 for the short drive to Arches National Park. No traffic to speak of in Moab and no significant delays at the park entrance. There were a fair number of folks coming into the park for sunrise photos. Some stopped at Park Avenue, others along the road paralleling the Great Wall and I’m guessing some were turning out toward the Windows Section. But we veered left to the parking area for the picnic area on Willow Flats Road, directly opposite Balanced Rock, arriving about 0735. The lot was empty when we pulled in. Looks like a lovely day in the making and the temperature was starting to creep up (44 F when we left Westview Flats and now up to 54 F). The sky was clear. Looks like a great day for a hike. But it was still chilly enough at the moment that the fleece was in play for the start of the hike. We donned our daypacks and our wide-brimmed hats and were on the trail at 7:40.
The trail today was the dirt roads that cut across Willow Flats leading to the park boundary. We started our going generally west along the Willow Flats Road. This road was in great shape and we could have easily driven the Rav4 on it. There was a wide spot right at the intersection of this road and the 4WD track so we could have driven to that point and parked thus trimming some distance from the hike, but we were looking for a longer trail today as we were below our mileage quote for the trip. The Ramblr track had us at 6.9 miles total, with about five miles along the 4WD road. Once on the 4WD track, I think the Rav4 would have made it about a hundred yards before crying uncle as there was serious ruts and rocks to negotiate.
This turned out to be a great hike. I’m glad we got an early start as the trail is totally exposed. There is not a stitch of shade to be found between the parking area and Herdina Park other than that under the wide brim of my Tilly hiking hat. But while it was very sunny, we were comfortable in the cook morning air. But being out in the open meant that we could see for miles on all directions. From the trailhead looking east were the La Sals, the Windows Section and Balanced Rock, but this view was looking right into the morning sun. Once we got out up the little rise at the start of the walk along the Willow Flats Road, our destination, Herdina Park, was in view most of the rest of the way. The vista to the northeast of the 4WD road looked out over Salt Valley, the Fiery Furnace and the sandstone fins and structures extending toward the Devils Garden. We could clearly see Skyline Arch along the upper right of this section of red rocks.
Another plus for this trail was that we had it all to ourselves. We did not see another hiker the entire time we were on the trail and there was very little in the way of other human contact. We could faintly hear the traffic on route 191 to the west of the park. We spotted a hot air balloon off to the north but they were drifting away from us. I think only one light aircraft cruised over while we were out. It was not until we were well into the return hike that we saw anyone else, but I’ll get to those encounters in a bit.
While we did not see many critters there was a lot of evidence of animal activity. They obviously like to use the 4WD road to get around as there were tracks everywhere, some just crossing the road but others following the path. The most interesting of these were some large canine tracks, so most likely coyote, and big cat tracks, some really big. Could be Bobcat or Cougar, or both. Looks like pronghorn in there as well. There are a lot of tracks from smaller all the way down to tiny varmints, like rodents, lizards and bugs. But this morning on the road there were only tracks. We did spot a rabbit or two off in the brush, a few birds including Juncos and Ravens but the rest were gone birds, and a couple lizards scurrying about near the Eye of the Whale. I believe these were Plateau side-blotched lizards.
While we did not see many critters there was a lot of evidence of animal activity. They obviously like to use the 4WD road to get around as there were tracks everywhere, some just crossing the road but others following the path. The most interesting of these were some large canine tracks, so most likely coyote, and big cat tracks, some really big. Could be Bobcat or Cougar, or both. Looks like pronghorn in there as well. There are a lot of tracks from smaller all the way down to tiny varmints, like rodents, lizards and bugs. But this morning on the road there were only tracks. We did spot a rabbit or two off in the brush, a few birds including Juncos and Ravens but the rest were gone birds, and a couple lizards scurrying about near the Eye of the Whale. I believe these were Plateau side-blotched lizards.
Overall the hike was pretty easy. The path along the road was fairly level but there was some minor elevation changes as we crossed the open desert plus a couple short but steep sections (very minor) when the trail, er, road, cut through a wash. Some of these were deep enough that we could not see out of them from the bottom. But as I recall these wiggles in the road were all fairly early along the 4WD road. Probably the hardest thing about the trail out to Herdina Park were a few sections of deep sand. But with the open, exposed nature of the trail I am glad that we had a cool morning to make this trek.
We could see the Eye of the Whale Arch for some distance from the 4WD road. We thought we saw a second opening in the sandstone above and to the left of the Eye of the Whale but that turned out to be a trick of the sunlight on the rocks. But “the eye” was in plain view most of the time we were on the trail and certainly we could see the general area of Herdina Park, so we always knew where we were going. The only point we were a little concerned about was finding the trail from the 4WD road into the sandstone jumble of Herdina Park. I thought that since this hike was a bit off the beaten path that the signage might not be as great. But there was no need to worry as that trail was well marked with a sturdy metal sign in the shape of a fish. We paused for a “team” photo at the trail marker then started down the quarter-mile trail from the 4WD road to the arch. Most of this trail was across sandy desert until we reached the sandstone rocks. At this point we climbed up the slickrock to get to the Eye of the Whale. The sandstone apron leading up to the arch has a bowl shape to it, so we found a section that was less steep and took sort of a indirectly route up and around to the arch. Some of the lizards that I mentioned earlier were darting about in this area. We paused here briefly. Under the arch was the first shady spot that we have found this morning so this will make a nice place to take a break, but it was not quite yet time for lunch. So we decided to see if we could find the arch that Mike told us about then come back here for a lunch break.
We could see the Eye of the Whale Arch for some distance from the 4WD road. We thought we saw a second opening in the sandstone above and to the left of the Eye of the Whale but that turned out to be a trick of the sunlight on the rocks. But “the eye” was in plain view most of the time we were on the trail and certainly we could see the general area of Herdina Park, so we always knew where we were going. The only point we were a little concerned about was finding the trail from the 4WD road into the sandstone jumble of Herdina Park. I thought that since this hike was a bit off the beaten path that the signage might not be as great. But there was no need to worry as that trail was well marked with a sturdy metal sign in the shape of a fish. We paused for a “team” photo at the trail marker then started down the quarter-mile trail from the 4WD road to the arch. Most of this trail was across sandy desert until we reached the sandstone rocks. At this point we climbed up the slickrock to get to the Eye of the Whale. The sandstone apron leading up to the arch has a bowl shape to it, so we found a section that was less steep and took sort of a indirectly route up and around to the arch. Some of the lizards that I mentioned earlier were darting about in this area. We paused here briefly. Under the arch was the first shady spot that we have found this morning so this will make a nice place to take a break, but it was not quite yet time for lunch. So we decided to see if we could find the arch that Mike told us about then come back here for a lunch break.
We worked our way around the edge of the red rocks that comprise Herdina Park, going counterclockwise to the north side of the area where Mike indicated we would find the arch. Pretty easy going for the most part as we were able to stay on the hard surface of the slickrock. There were a couple places that we had to detour around where the slickrock got steep or took us to an impassable ledge or wall, but there was nothing really difficult and no scrambling was required. As we made our way around the outside of Herdina Park, we kept an eye out for the arch since it was not marked on the map and Mike just gave us general directions to its location. But we saw it in short order, or at least the top of the opening under the rock arch. As we continued around the opening grew larger as did the span of the arch that we could see. As we cleared around to the north side of Herdina Park, we got our best view of this rather large and impressive sandstone span. It is positioned well above the desert floor, up in the fins. There was no obvious way to get a closer look, not that it was really necessary. The vantage point that we had provided a nice view. I did not know the name of the arch until we returned from the trip (Mike did not tell us the name if he knew it). I finally had to post a photo on the Arches National Park Facebook Page to get the name: Leaping Arch. Once I had the name I was able to find a little information about the arch, like the span is 68 feet and apparently it is nearly impossible to get directly under this one. But it is one of the arches that does not get a lot of traffic (even less than the Eye of the Whale, I suspect), so we are now in the small percentage of visitors to the park to have seen this impressive natural wonder. OK, we came, we saw, we enjoyed the journey and the views to the north, now let’s have a snack.
We found a trail that led back to the 4WD road and took that back to the Eye of the Whale connector trail, and retraced that track up to the big arch. There was still no another soul in sight. We claimed the shady area right under the arch as our own, at least for today, and made ourselves to home. As the fin containing the Eye of the Whale is rather tall and thick, there was plenty of shade to go around. We settled down on the smooth slickrock floor under the massive arch and enjoyed a snack while studying the sandstone bowl and formations on the other side of the arch.
After our break, I wanted to check out the area on the backside of the arch. There is a rather steep slickrock slope leading down from the arch into the bowl on the other side. Of course getting down is easy as one can always slide down the slope on their backside, it is climbing back up that can be a challenge. Lynn opted out but I had to check it out. Glad I did. It turned out to be easy; I just took my time and walked down the slope. Mike had said that the fins and gullies in Herdina Park were a great place to explore, but I restricted my wanderings to the area in sight of the arch since Lynn was staying put. But even if I did not range far afield it was still very worthwhile checking out the arch from this side. I think the view from over here is where the arch really gets its name as the shape of the opening and the creases in the sandstone around the arch really take on a very close resemblance to, well, the eye of a whale. Seeing the arch from both sides was almost like seeing two different arches as the settings are different. Coming in from the 4WD road side, the arch was above us and tucked into a shaded corner of the sandstone fins. However, from the “other side” viewing from across the bowl, I was on the same level as the arch and could take in the entire fin holding the Eye of the Whale. Of course the lighting pays a part so maybe the perception would be different later in the day. I walked around the bowl and viewed the arch and the surroundings from various angles. Lynn was waiting patiently for me, probably enjoying the peace and quiet. There was a Raven or two cruising overhead, patrolling their turf. I did not play too long and soon worked my way back up to the arch where Lynn was waiting. It was time to start back so we grabbed our packs and started back to the 4WD road.
After our break, I wanted to check out the area on the backside of the arch. There is a rather steep slickrock slope leading down from the arch into the bowl on the other side. Of course getting down is easy as one can always slide down the slope on their backside, it is climbing back up that can be a challenge. Lynn opted out but I had to check it out. Glad I did. It turned out to be easy; I just took my time and walked down the slope. Mike had said that the fins and gullies in Herdina Park were a great place to explore, but I restricted my wanderings to the area in sight of the arch since Lynn was staying put. But even if I did not range far afield it was still very worthwhile checking out the arch from this side. I think the view from over here is where the arch really gets its name as the shape of the opening and the creases in the sandstone around the arch really take on a very close resemblance to, well, the eye of a whale. Seeing the arch from both sides was almost like seeing two different arches as the settings are different. Coming in from the 4WD road side, the arch was above us and tucked into a shaded corner of the sandstone fins. However, from the “other side” viewing from across the bowl, I was on the same level as the arch and could take in the entire fin holding the Eye of the Whale. Of course the lighting pays a part so maybe the perception would be different later in the day. I walked around the bowl and viewed the arch and the surroundings from various angles. Lynn was waiting patiently for me, probably enjoying the peace and quiet. There was a Raven or two cruising overhead, patrolling their turf. I did not play too long and soon worked my way back up to the arch where Lynn was waiting. It was time to start back so we grabbed our packs and started back to the 4WD road.
The walk back was under basically the same conditions as the inward hike; the sky was still a beautiful blue, perhaps I’ll stretch my Crayola-Eight tendencies and go with cerulean, and nary a cloud in sight but it was just a little warmer. Still very comfortable, but the morning chill was certainly gone now and the sun was starting to bring the heat. Yes, time to get moving. But maybe the warmth was bringing out the critters as we had a few more sightings on the return trip and figured out was some making some of the tracks we saw on the sandy 4WD road. The ever present Ravens were still circling about the arch. We had seen evidence under the arch where they or some other larger birds had been roosting on some of the ledges. Just outside the arch were a few little birds flitting about. Pretty sure they were Juncos. Along the trail back to the 4WD road we saw a big black bug leaving a trail in the sand. From my post-trip research I’m thinking this was a Darkling Beetle, and the tracks it left were like many of the sets we saw in the road.
Once back on the 4WD road, we identified another of the track makers, this time a fuzzy blue-grey spider. This was another one that I had to get some help from BugGuide.net but those helpful folks said it was a Jumping Spider of some sort. That’s more than I knew so I’ll take it. Since we had been hiking around all morning without seeing or hearing anyone along the trail we were no too concerned about stopping at a blind turn and crouching the middle of the 4WD road to study the little arachnid. That’s when we heard the rumble of an engine. Lynn looked up in time to see an off-road tour Jeep charging around the corner. She just had time to yell “Jeep!” and scurrying up the slope of the curve and out of the way. I was at the bottom of the turn and had to scramble up the sandy bank. I think the driver saw us just in time and brought the vehicle to a halt. He said that we almost gave him a heart attack. Hey, we were the targets in this situation! But no harm no foul. We chatted briefly then he and his passengers continued east back to Willow Flats Road. They even missed the spider, so all’s well that ends well. We continued along the 4WD track without further incident, but we were listening for traffic on the road. But the only sounds were the songs of the gone birds as saw along the last section of the 4WD road. None wanted to pose for a photo but fortunately many were willing to serenade us with their desert tunes.
We chatted about the hiking we have done in Arches and hikes yet to do in the park. I think we have now covered all of the primary trails in the park, some of them multiple times. Last trip we checked several off the list for the first time: the very nice loop out to Broken Arch and the short walk to Skyline Arch, plus we finally covered all of the little side trails from the Devils Garden Loop. There are still plenty of other amazing sites to see in this little park including Covert Arch. We will definitely have to try that on a future trip when we are in the area for a few days. I mentioned to Lynn the thought of renting a Jeep for the day and so that we would have a much better chance of getting to the trailhead.
Almost back on the Willow Flats Road, the traffic was picking up. Well, there was nowhere to go but up since we had seen no one except for the Jeep-load of tourists all morning. We saw one car kicking up a cloud of dust on the dirt road well to the west of us and two mountain bikers cruised past, also west bound. So we did not have the trail completely to ourselves this morning, but we were pretty darn close. Not bad for a park that is getting record visitation. There were a few cars at the trailhead parking when we returned but the lot was nowhere near full. I took a few minutes and enjoyed the views looking north out over the Salt Valley and the Fiery Furnace off in the distance from the edge of the picnic ground. To the east, the light was now shining on Balanced Rock and the Windows Section where this morning these features were silhouetted against the rising sun. The time was now right at noon, so time to get back to the rental flat and relax for a bit. I noted from the Rav4’s gage that the temperature had risen to a balmy 74 F as we were on the way out of the park. So long, Arches! We’ll be back soon! Here's the photo gallery from our hike to Eye of the Whale Arch.
We chatted about the hiking we have done in Arches and hikes yet to do in the park. I think we have now covered all of the primary trails in the park, some of them multiple times. Last trip we checked several off the list for the first time: the very nice loop out to Broken Arch and the short walk to Skyline Arch, plus we finally covered all of the little side trails from the Devils Garden Loop. There are still plenty of other amazing sites to see in this little park including Covert Arch. We will definitely have to try that on a future trip when we are in the area for a few days. I mentioned to Lynn the thought of renting a Jeep for the day and so that we would have a much better chance of getting to the trailhead.
Almost back on the Willow Flats Road, the traffic was picking up. Well, there was nowhere to go but up since we had seen no one except for the Jeep-load of tourists all morning. We saw one car kicking up a cloud of dust on the dirt road well to the west of us and two mountain bikers cruised past, also west bound. So we did not have the trail completely to ourselves this morning, but we were pretty darn close. Not bad for a park that is getting record visitation. There were a few cars at the trailhead parking when we returned but the lot was nowhere near full. I took a few minutes and enjoyed the views looking north out over the Salt Valley and the Fiery Furnace off in the distance from the edge of the picnic ground. To the east, the light was now shining on Balanced Rock and the Windows Section where this morning these features were silhouetted against the rising sun. The time was now right at noon, so time to get back to the rental flat and relax for a bit. I noted from the Rav4’s gage that the temperature had risen to a balmy 74 F as we were on the way out of the park. So long, Arches! We’ll be back soon! Here's the photo gallery from our hike to Eye of the Whale Arch.
Home with a beer on the patio just a little after noon. We spent the rest of the afternoon here, other than just a little time to start packing and to get cleaned up for dinner. The setting on the porch was nearly ideal for the later afternoon. I was able to sit on a chair in the shade with my feet up on another chair sticking out in the sun. That felt good on my old tired legs. I worked a few cross-sums, Lynn read a book, we talked about the trip that we’re wrapping up as well as the trips to come and of course we drank a few beers. The best we tired today was the Escape to Colorado IPA from Epic Brewing. Great aroma and very smooth. I would definitely drink this one again. I gave it a solid 4 out of 5 on Untappd.com. The Hop Rising from Squatters Craft Beers was also very good. Pretty smooth for a double IPA with a bitter bite at the end (I gave it a 3.75). The birds were serenading us which just added to the peace of the afternoon. There were several black and yellow song birds in the top of the evergreen trees along the property line. Turns out these were Lesser Goldfinches, black-backed race. Never noted those before, so a new bird for our list to close out the trip. I’m quite certain that I snuck in a nap sometime during this hectic afternoon. As the afternoon rolled along, the clouds rolled in, but it was still a wonderful day.
Dinner tonight was at one of, no, our favorite restaurant in Moab, the Desert Bistro. We were seated on the back porch so that we could enjoy the pleasant early evening. They have an interesting, sort of eclectic menu with a southwest flare and generally offer some nice specials. I went with the bison filet which had a little extra heat in the trimmings. Simply excellent. The only downside is that they didn’t have any great options for beer. The best they could muster was the Johnny’s American IPA from Moab Brewing which was extremely average. After dinner we took a short walk along the main drag of town. There was a lot of activity. Most of the dining establishments were getting full with the dinner crowd and there were a lot of folks out meandering on the sidewalks. We did a little more window shopping then looped back to the flat. The cloud cover continued to build so we figured we were thwarted yet again in stars.
Day 11 - Friday, October 14 - Heading home. Up at 0500. We're doing pretty well with staying on east coast time, or at least close. We did a quick star check about 0600 just out behind the flat. The skies had cleared so there was a nice show, but we were just getting the first light of dawn so the deep night dark sky was gone already. Still better than we get in Ohio.
We had plenty of time to get ready this morning. Check out is 10:00, but we will have to be on the road a little ahead of that. Neither of us were starving this morning after that huge dinner last evening, but it was starting to wear off, so a trip to Peace Tree is in order before we hit the road. We walked over to Peace Tree. It is so nice staying at a place as nice as Westview Flats and being within easy walking distance to the heart of Moab. Peace Tree was not very busy when we arrived, so we were promptly seated. As I was still in southwest food mode I chose the breakfast burrito. It was huge but very tasty. That should last me until dinner! Lynn went more traditional with French toast and bacon.
We did not linger over breakfast. Well not too long as Lynn did have her morning coffee. Back at the flat we finished packing, loaded the Rav4 and we were on the road at 0910. I spotted a Magpie as we were pulling out of the driveway. Like our Blue Jays back home, these are pretty birds but noisy bullies, just bigger.
Since we had plenty of time for the cruise back to Grand Junction we opted for scenic route 128. What a lovely drive. Great colors on the rocks and the cottonwoods along the river were an explosion of bright yellow leaves. However, not much in terms of critters, mostly ravens, a few free range cattle and one huge bird that was probably a golden eagle. No issues along the way. We were at the airport at 11:10, so exactly two hours since leaving Moab. Rental car return, check-in and security were all a breeze such that we were at the gate at 11:25. Is that possible? Only 15 minutes. Maybe I am off a little on the time, but not by much. These little airports are just so easy to navigate and never seem to have much in the way of lines.
The rest of the day went per schedule. Short layover in Denver then on to Cleveland with an on time arrival, quick retrieval of our bags, out to the orange lot and back to the ranch. We were back at the house a little after 9:00. We just ditched our gear in the house and then jumped right back into the Edge (so much nicer than the Rav4 I’ve been driving for the past 11 days) for the short drive to Lager Heads for a late dinner. A tall High Five IPA was a great way to end another outstanding southwest adventure.
Final Thoughts… 2016 was a busy year on the road, particularly from late summer through fall. So busy in fact that it has taken me a while to get through all the journals. Shoot, it is now April 2017 and I’m just finishing the journal for the Utah-Colorado trip and have barely started any of the photobooks (this is the last of the journals that I need to finish for 2016). But archiving our adventures gives me something to do over the winter months until the travel season starts again. Writing these journals gives me a chance to reflect on the trip and tie the big, red bow on each.
We got lucky with the weather, as it was lovely during our visit. While on the nippy side most mornings, particularly for our Monument Valley tour, overall there are no complaints. The only place that I was concerned was Mesa Verde as there were notes on the park map that the road to Wetherill Mesa can be closed due to snow in September. No issues there, even though we did get a very short flurry. But the weather did add some interest besides it random nature on Wetherill Mesa. We were treated to beautiful sunrises many mornings and a few nice sunsets. While the clouds are essential for these wonderful views, they did tend to mask the night sky so our star gazing opportunities were limited. But when the sky was clear at night, the show was really impressive. Shoot, Mother Nature even through in a rainbow for us.
Another key plus was the lack of crowds throughout the trip. We did not expect a lot of folks in Bluff, other than us, and that was pretty much the case. There were also no issues with throngs of folks at the parks we visited following the meet-up. Again, Mesa Verde was the wildcard but we had no problem getting the exact tour tickets we wanted, and then the tours were not crowded. Of course getting up early and getting on the trails as soon as we could certainly helps. We never had to wait an anything and we had the trails were mostly to ourselves. So visiting in the fall does have its advantages. The only downside was that some services were starting to shut down in Mesa Verde. And the Far View Lodge ran out of IPA!
By the numbers. I can’t help myself, but I like to keep track of stuff, like the critter sightings and how far we traveled. But Lynn likes it as well, so we have fun making our lists. Here are some of the numbers:
Day 11 - Friday, October 14 - Heading home. Up at 0500. We're doing pretty well with staying on east coast time, or at least close. We did a quick star check about 0600 just out behind the flat. The skies had cleared so there was a nice show, but we were just getting the first light of dawn so the deep night dark sky was gone already. Still better than we get in Ohio.
We had plenty of time to get ready this morning. Check out is 10:00, but we will have to be on the road a little ahead of that. Neither of us were starving this morning after that huge dinner last evening, but it was starting to wear off, so a trip to Peace Tree is in order before we hit the road. We walked over to Peace Tree. It is so nice staying at a place as nice as Westview Flats and being within easy walking distance to the heart of Moab. Peace Tree was not very busy when we arrived, so we were promptly seated. As I was still in southwest food mode I chose the breakfast burrito. It was huge but very tasty. That should last me until dinner! Lynn went more traditional with French toast and bacon.
We did not linger over breakfast. Well not too long as Lynn did have her morning coffee. Back at the flat we finished packing, loaded the Rav4 and we were on the road at 0910. I spotted a Magpie as we were pulling out of the driveway. Like our Blue Jays back home, these are pretty birds but noisy bullies, just bigger.
Since we had plenty of time for the cruise back to Grand Junction we opted for scenic route 128. What a lovely drive. Great colors on the rocks and the cottonwoods along the river were an explosion of bright yellow leaves. However, not much in terms of critters, mostly ravens, a few free range cattle and one huge bird that was probably a golden eagle. No issues along the way. We were at the airport at 11:10, so exactly two hours since leaving Moab. Rental car return, check-in and security were all a breeze such that we were at the gate at 11:25. Is that possible? Only 15 minutes. Maybe I am off a little on the time, but not by much. These little airports are just so easy to navigate and never seem to have much in the way of lines.
The rest of the day went per schedule. Short layover in Denver then on to Cleveland with an on time arrival, quick retrieval of our bags, out to the orange lot and back to the ranch. We were back at the house a little after 9:00. We just ditched our gear in the house and then jumped right back into the Edge (so much nicer than the Rav4 I’ve been driving for the past 11 days) for the short drive to Lager Heads for a late dinner. A tall High Five IPA was a great way to end another outstanding southwest adventure.
Final Thoughts… 2016 was a busy year on the road, particularly from late summer through fall. So busy in fact that it has taken me a while to get through all the journals. Shoot, it is now April 2017 and I’m just finishing the journal for the Utah-Colorado trip and have barely started any of the photobooks (this is the last of the journals that I need to finish for 2016). But archiving our adventures gives me something to do over the winter months until the travel season starts again. Writing these journals gives me a chance to reflect on the trip and tie the big, red bow on each.
We got lucky with the weather, as it was lovely during our visit. While on the nippy side most mornings, particularly for our Monument Valley tour, overall there are no complaints. The only place that I was concerned was Mesa Verde as there were notes on the park map that the road to Wetherill Mesa can be closed due to snow in September. No issues there, even though we did get a very short flurry. But the weather did add some interest besides it random nature on Wetherill Mesa. We were treated to beautiful sunrises many mornings and a few nice sunsets. While the clouds are essential for these wonderful views, they did tend to mask the night sky so our star gazing opportunities were limited. But when the sky was clear at night, the show was really impressive. Shoot, Mother Nature even through in a rainbow for us.
Another key plus was the lack of crowds throughout the trip. We did not expect a lot of folks in Bluff, other than us, and that was pretty much the case. There were also no issues with throngs of folks at the parks we visited following the meet-up. Again, Mesa Verde was the wildcard but we had no problem getting the exact tour tickets we wanted, and then the tours were not crowded. Of course getting up early and getting on the trails as soon as we could certainly helps. We never had to wait an anything and we had the trails were mostly to ourselves. So visiting in the fall does have its advantages. The only downside was that some services were starting to shut down in Mesa Verde. And the Far View Lodge ran out of IPA!
By the numbers. I can’t help myself, but I like to keep track of stuff, like the critter sightings and how far we traveled. But Lynn likes it as well, so we have fun making our lists. Here are some of the numbers:
- Not as many miles as in years past at the meet-up, but we made up from it a bit with our post-meet-up excursions. We were just short of 27 miles on the trails for the trip. Here the list of trails we hiked during the trip.
- We did better than expected for the trip as we generally don’t get a long list of wildlife sightings during our trips to the desert southwest. We started strong at Colorado National Monument and just continued throughout the trip. We added four more birds to our overall list. Here’s the link to all the critters we saw in Utah and Colorado this time around.
- We put 1,005 miles on the rental car.
- In total we took 2,912 photos, give or take. Not our highest picture count for a trip but still pretty good. I snapped almost 2,300 and Lynn was a bit over 600. The best shots are collected on a page on my SmugMug site.
- We sampled a lot of local and regional beers, probably 18 individual brews. There were several very good IPAs and Double IPAs in the mix. The favorite was the Myrcenary DIPA but the Crank Yanker, Melvin, Modus Hoperandi and Escape to Colorado IPAs were all also highly regarded.
- Page count for the text of this journal: 86.
- We added four new National Park Service units to our list during this trip: Colorado National Monument, Natural Bridges National Monument, Hovenweep National Monument and Mesa Verde National Park. This brought to 11 the number of parks that we visited for the first time this year. Our current tally is 26 National Parks and 77 total units of the Park Service that we have visited thus far. That's pretty good, particularly since this is the centennial year for the National Park Service.
Damn it, Jim, I'm an engineer, not an entomologist! Figuring out the names of the animals and flowers is part of the fun after (sometimes during) the trip. I use a variety of sources: information collected during the trip from the museums, signage and literature from the parks, a few books at the house on wildlife and wildflower identification, websites like BirdForum.net, WhatBird, BugGuide and Butterflies and Moths of North America, and more recently tapping into the National Park Service pages on Facebook (so there is some value to Facebook after all). All of these sources have proven useful. I save the social media options as the last resort. I guess I try not to bother the staff working the Park Service sites if I can avoid it. Sometimes I just post to the Park’s timeline to ask a question, like I did to determine the name of Leaping Arch in Arches National Park. I’ve also used Messenger feature to get answers as well. This option really provided an interesting exchange with one of the Rangers at Mesa Verde regarding that moth we saw at Far View Lodge. Here’s the deal.
The story actually starts with the owl I heard from our balcony. As mentioned, I did a little on-line investigation right after I heard its call and determined that it was a Northern Pygmy Owl. However, this species was not listed on the Mesa Verde bird checklist that I picked up at the Visitor Center on the way out of the park. Curious, particularly since the park appeared to be within the range of the bird. I was quite sure of the ID, but it bothered me nonetheless. I finally decided to contact the experts at Mesa Verde via a message through their Facebook page. The short story is that the Ranger I chatted with confirmed that there were Northern Pygmy Owls in the park, but they are considered an uncommon visitor. But that is just the beginning of the tale. I went on to ask about another bird sighting and that elusive moth identification. The latter is where the conversation got really interesting. The transcript of the chat with Ranger Katie is listed below, as I thought it was pretty cool how helpful the Rangers at the park were in making these identifications.
The story actually starts with the owl I heard from our balcony. As mentioned, I did a little on-line investigation right after I heard its call and determined that it was a Northern Pygmy Owl. However, this species was not listed on the Mesa Verde bird checklist that I picked up at the Visitor Center on the way out of the park. Curious, particularly since the park appeared to be within the range of the bird. I was quite sure of the ID, but it bothered me nonetheless. I finally decided to contact the experts at Mesa Verde via a message through their Facebook page. The short story is that the Ranger I chatted with confirmed that there were Northern Pygmy Owls in the park, but they are considered an uncommon visitor. But that is just the beginning of the tale. I went on to ask about another bird sighting and that elusive moth identification. The latter is where the conversation got really interesting. The transcript of the chat with Ranger Katie is listed below, as I thought it was pretty cool how helpful the Rangers at the park were in making these identifications.
- February 25 @ 1:57 PM: Greetings! Question for y'all. My wife and I had a wonderful visit last fall (9-12 October). We stayed at the Far View Lodge. On the morning of 12 Oct at 0730, I was enjoying the peace of the morning from our balcony and heard a bird calling that I was sure was some sort of owl. I was able to Google owl calls and the bird I heard sounded like a Northern Pygmy Owl. Is that possible? I did not see this species listed on the list of birds in the park, but the range of the birds seems to overlap the park. Thoughts? Thanks!
- Ranger Katie, Mesa Verde National Park, February 25 @ 3:55 PM: Interesting! On the full species list found here - https://www.nps.gov/meve/learn/nature/species_list.htm - it says that they are in the park, but are uncommon. I'll pass your message along to our wildlife biologist. If he gives us any more information, we'll definitely get back with you. Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us!
- February 25 @ 5:09 PM: Thanks for the speedy reply and the link to the critter list. That is very helpful. I really appreciate the help. I hope you don't mind if I ask a few more questions as I am still working on identifying some other birds and bugs that we saw in the park. Thanks! Allen
- March 1 @ 9:46 AM: After looking through the wildlife list you provided, the only other sighting that I had of an "uncommon" bird was a Brewer's Sparrow seen on Wetherill Mesa on the afternoon of 11 October. I think that the only critter I have not been able to identify is a moth that we saw on the side of the Far View Lodge (just outside our room) on the evening of 11 October. I've searched all over the Internet but just cannot find the name of this little guy. Any ideas? Thanks!
- March 1 @ 1:24 PM: Good morning, I passed your questions on to our park natural resource manager. He agrees with the Brewer's Sparrow identification and is working on the moth. We'll pass on any information he is able to provide. Katie
- Hello Katie. Thanks for the confirmation on the Brewer's Sparrow. All those little brown birds look so similar to the untrained eye, so I look for help from birdforum.net as a starting point. Looking forward to an ID on the moth. I found one photo on the Web that looked like my moth, but it was labeled "unidentified moth." Thanks to both you and the natural resource manager.
- March 1: Hi Allen, I just received this message back from George San Miguel, our natural resources manager. "Cochisea is a genus of moths in the family Geometridae. We don't know the species. This would be a new "discovery" for us so could you ask the visitor to let us know when and where the photo was taken, please do. Thanks." I'll forward him your information about Far View Lodge.
- March 1: That's fascinating! I have the details at home and will forward the info tonight.
- March 1 @ 7:12 PM: That sounds great. Thanks so much! Katie
- March 2 @ 9:07 AM: Katie, Here are the details. The sighting was made on 11 October, 2016, at 6:34 PM. The moth was on the outside wall of the Far View Lodge, right by the door of room 138. Hope this helps. Keep me posted, please. Allen
- March 6 @ 12:34 PM: Thanks Allen, I'll let you know when natural resources responds. Katie
- March 6 @ 5:31 PM: Hi Allen, George contacted the Entomology Department at CSU. Here's their response. Dr. Paul Opler has determined your image as Erannis vancouverensis Hulst, the western linden looper. We have specimens from Mesa Verde National park, probably feed on oaks in your area. The female is wingless and can cause defoliation. Hopefully that helps. Have a great day, Katie
- March 6: Thanks for the update, Katie. You folks really are very helpful. I really appreciate y'all going to such great lengths to track down the identity of this moth. If I am reading the information correctly, it sounds like this moth has been seen in Mesa Verde before. I'm I reading that correctly? It would have been cool to have seen something that was not previously recorded in the park, but this a long shot anyway. Thanks! Allen
- March 6 @ 7:14 PM: You're welcome. Sounds to me like CSU researchers were aware of this species in the park. It would have been cool to find a new species, but next trip for sure. :-)
- Katie, one last question. I'm writing up my journal for the trip and I'll include much of this exchange in the journal. What is your job at the park? Park Ranger? Thanks. Allen
- March 6 @ 8:25 PM. We're all park rangers, and I've done a variety of jobs at different parks. However, at MEVE I am the law enforcement program assistant. We're short handed in the winter and all pitch in with different things, including Facebook. :-)
- March 7. Groovy. Thanks for sharing. I've visited many National Parks and the Rangers are always a special part of the visit. Y'all are great. Thanks for all that you do!
- March 7 @ 7:07 AM. Thank you!
How helpful was that! Ranger Katie and Ranger George really went out of their way to figure out what this moth was. Granted, if it was something that had not been seen in the park before they would have been very interested for their own reasons, but they did not know this when they started down the path. I just thought it was very cool that they took the time to thoroughly investigate questions like these from Joe Tourist. Like I’ve said, the Parks are special places but the Rangers can make the experience in the Parks special. That was certainly the case in Mesa Verde between Ranger Beth and Range Kim leading the hikes in the Park to Rangers Katie and George helping with the critter IDs. Thanks to all of you!
12/16/2017: Update on the Mesa Verde moth ID - I started this process by posting the image to Butterflies and Moths of North America, but they were slow in responding on this request (that happens sometimes), so I went the Facebook route and got the ID described above. Since I was having problems figuring out the identity of this moth, I also posted on Bug Guide and they came back with the Linden Looper Moth (Erannis tiliaria). Turns out that Erannis vancouverensis Hulst used to be a subspecies of Erannis tiliaria. BAMONA finally responded to my inquiry on December 15, 2017, and concurred with the Erannis tiliaria identification. I had suggested the Erannis vancouverensis ID once I got it from the Rangers at Mesa Verde, but the BAMONA replied that "this moth is much too plain to be the heavily marked Erannis vancouverensis. First Colorado sighting for this species." I guess that makes it two to one, so I'll list it as Erannis tiliaria.
And in conclusion. Another outstanding trip to the desert southwest has drawn to a close. This was almost two trips in one, starting with the meet-up in Bluff where we got to reunite with the Herd, then the loop into Colorado with the focus on exploring Mesa Verde. Everyday allowed us to see and do great things and still have some time to chill. That’s the recipe we like to follow as it works so well for us. That was certainly the plan we used during our final trip of the year when we spent the week of Thanksgiving in Sedona.
12/16/2017: Update on the Mesa Verde moth ID - I started this process by posting the image to Butterflies and Moths of North America, but they were slow in responding on this request (that happens sometimes), so I went the Facebook route and got the ID described above. Since I was having problems figuring out the identity of this moth, I also posted on Bug Guide and they came back with the Linden Looper Moth (Erannis tiliaria). Turns out that Erannis vancouverensis Hulst used to be a subspecies of Erannis tiliaria. BAMONA finally responded to my inquiry on December 15, 2017, and concurred with the Erannis tiliaria identification. I had suggested the Erannis vancouverensis ID once I got it from the Rangers at Mesa Verde, but the BAMONA replied that "this moth is much too plain to be the heavily marked Erannis vancouverensis. First Colorado sighting for this species." I guess that makes it two to one, so I'll list it as Erannis tiliaria.
And in conclusion. Another outstanding trip to the desert southwest has drawn to a close. This was almost two trips in one, starting with the meet-up in Bluff where we got to reunite with the Herd, then the loop into Colorado with the focus on exploring Mesa Verde. Everyday allowed us to see and do great things and still have some time to chill. That’s the recipe we like to follow as it works so well for us. That was certainly the plan we used during our final trip of the year when we spent the week of Thanksgiving in Sedona.