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Sep 22, 2014
Sep 21, 2014
MESA VERDE CLIFF DWELLINGS
This is one of the sites we really looked forward to the most and we were not disappointed. We got there very early, an hour before the ranger station opened, as we were so enthusiastic. We wanted to get the tour to go down into the Cliff Dwelling and were lucky to get the first one and even luckier to get Ranger Jim. He wanted to become a ranger since he was five years old and then when he was old enough to succeed he had to work at other places for twenty years before he got the cliff dwellings. He's not leaving and that is a good thing for the tourists as he is well informed and tells the history well.
As usual, click on the first picture for larger pictures in a slide show if you don't want to read my ramblings.
This is the approach to the Mesa Verde where the cliff dwellings are. We have to drive up to the very top on switch back roads and were happy to be doing so early in the morning when we were almost the only ones making the drive.
Above.
The view from about half way up. It was misty and perhaps a bit polluted down below so it's hard to make anything out but it is a long way down there.
We arrive on the top to find the forest burned out. This isn't unusual for the tops of these mesas, the area around the Grand Canyon is the same. Lots of lightening strikes up at the top.
Above.This is The Spruce Tree House which can be viewed right behind the museum and is not accessible by tourists.Below is a close up of the buildings on the right hand side of this picture.
A close up of the right hand side buildings. This is one of the sites where the people actually lived as opposed to the Cliff Dwelling Site that was reserved for ceremonies.
These are the cliffs that they built into and they built on both sides. That's amazing in itself but apparently they visited each other on a daily basis. The average height of the men was 5'2 and weight was 120 pounds. Talk about fit!!
A better view of what they navigated.
One of the dwellings.
Some of the dwellings were on two levels of rocks.
This picture gives a good idea of how far below the top they built their dwellings. I assume none of them were afraid of heights.
The circular areas are called Kivas and were used for social or ceremonial sessions.
They used the top of the Mesa to grow their crops and hunt. They used to live on the top as well but as the tribe grew they needed more room for their crop growing.
The indentations are for climbing. They put ladders up to them and then climbed the rest of the way.
Above and below is the Sun Temple. It was built but never used.
Still the Sun Temple. There were no doors leading in so they had planned to come through the roof which was a common entry or perhaps through the 'window' opening above.
The Cliff Palace from afar.
The Cliff Palace. The most photographed site in the area. Our ranger said that they did not live here, that it was used exclusively for ceremony but the pamphlet states otherwise. It was built from rocks brought down from the mesa that were removed from a building they deconstructed. After all that work it was abandoned 80 years later.
Here we go down the steps for our guided tour of the Cliff Palace.
After going down you go up a ladder...........
Then around a corner
The left hand corner comes into view.
There it is in all it's glory. This was not reconstructed, only cleaned up from the debris that was lying around.
A small section under the overhang that doesn't look big enough for anyone but most likely used for storage.
The way out.
Inside one of the kivas. No idea what the round circular things are that are laid out at the back. We weren't allowed to enter any of the structures.
This kiva shows the fire pit, a ventilation shaft behind the small wall of stones. The small stone in front of the fire pit apparently is their communication to their ancestors. Since their buried them they believed that they had to consult them through a hole in the ground.
Their art work is visible on the walls of this shaft, protected from the elements by the overhang above and the sides of the shaft.
The ventilation shafts were interconnected. The space between the two pillars was an altar of some sort.
The inside of one of the ventilation shafts.
Looking back before we leave.
Up more stairs.
Up some steeper stairs.
Still more.
Finally the ladder to the top.
This is one of the sites we really looked forward to the most and we were not disappointed. We got there very early, an hour before the ranger station opened, as we were so enthusiastic. We wanted to get the tour to go down into the Cliff Dwelling and were lucky to get the first one and even luckier to get Ranger Jim. He wanted to become a ranger since he was five years old and then when he was old enough to succeed he had to work at other places for twenty years before he got the cliff dwellings. He's not leaving and that is a good thing for the tourists as he is well informed and tells the history well.
As usual, click on the first picture for larger pictures in a slide show if you don't want to read my ramblings.
This is the approach to the Mesa Verde where the cliff dwellings are. We have to drive up to the very top on switch back roads and were happy to be doing so early in the morning when we were almost the only ones making the drive.
Above.
The view from about half way up. It was misty and perhaps a bit polluted down below so it's hard to make anything out but it is a long way down there.
We arrive on the top to find the forest burned out. This isn't unusual for the tops of these mesas, the area around the Grand Canyon is the same. Lots of lightening strikes up at the top.
Above.This is The Spruce Tree House which can be viewed right behind the museum and is not accessible by tourists.Below is a close up of the buildings on the right hand side of this picture.
A close up of the right hand side buildings. This is one of the sites where the people actually lived as opposed to the Cliff Dwelling Site that was reserved for ceremonies.
These are the cliffs that they built into and they built on both sides. That's amazing in itself but apparently they visited each other on a daily basis. The average height of the men was 5'2 and weight was 120 pounds. Talk about fit!!
One of the dwellings.
Some of the dwellings were on two levels of rocks.
The circular areas are called Kivas and were used for social or ceremonial sessions.
They used the top of the Mesa to grow their crops and hunt. They used to live on the top as well but as the tribe grew they needed more room for their crop growing.
The indentations are for climbing. They put ladders up to them and then climbed the rest of the way.
Above and below is the Sun Temple. It was built but never used.
The Cliff Palace from afar.
The Cliff Palace. The most photographed site in the area. Our ranger said that they did not live here, that it was used exclusively for ceremony but the pamphlet states otherwise. It was built from rocks brought down from the mesa that were removed from a building they deconstructed. After all that work it was abandoned 80 years later.
After going down you go up a ladder...........
Then around a corner
The left hand corner comes into view.
There it is in all it's glory. This was not reconstructed, only cleaned up from the debris that was lying around.
A small section under the overhang that doesn't look big enough for anyone but most likely used for storage.
The way out.
This kiva shows the fire pit, a ventilation shaft behind the small wall of stones. The small stone in front of the fire pit apparently is their communication to their ancestors. Since their buried them they believed that they had to consult them through a hole in the ground.
The ventilation shafts were interconnected. The space between the two pillars was an altar of some sort.
The inside of one of the ventilation shafts.
Up more stairs.
Up some steeper stairs.
Still more.
Finally the ladder to the top.
JEROME
Not far from Sedona and about a mile above ground level thanks to a series of switchback roads is a wonderful little town called Jerome that is a must on anyone's list who likes art. In it's heyday it was a copper mining town and when that closed it became a ghost town. Happily, those in the arts found the town, bought up the buildings for exceptional prices and revitalized the place. Now it is a favorite spot for tourists to explore and shop for those take home souvenirs in a broad range of prices.
This store was closed when we were there but from what is outside it looks like a super one to explore.
In the days of the copper mines, quite a few of the buildings housed bordelos for the pleasure of the miners and a place to spend their hard earned money. Now they house artists who have kept the markings of the past to add to the charm of their buildings.
The view from the town is fantastic. That valley is a mile below and they refer to the view as 'the 100 mile view'
A favorite place to eat. In full tourist season the line ups are long to get in for their famous burger.
Below are their two famous "mile high" cakes. They are about ten inches high!
From this viewpoint we could see six different spots where the rain was coming down in torrents. There were a lot of flash flood warnings when we were in Arizona.
Not far from Sedona and about a mile above ground level thanks to a series of switchback roads is a wonderful little town called Jerome that is a must on anyone's list who likes art. In it's heyday it was a copper mining town and when that closed it became a ghost town. Happily, those in the arts found the town, bought up the buildings for exceptional prices and revitalized the place. Now it is a favorite spot for tourists to explore and shop for those take home souvenirs in a broad range of prices.
This store was closed when we were there but from what is outside it looks like a super one to explore.
In the days of the copper mines, quite a few of the buildings housed bordelos for the pleasure of the miners and a place to spend their hard earned money. Now they house artists who have kept the markings of the past to add to the charm of their buildings.
A favorite place to eat. In full tourist season the line ups are long to get in for their famous burger.
Below are their two famous "mile high" cakes. They are about ten inches high!
From this viewpoint we could see six different spots where the rain was coming down in torrents. There were a lot of flash flood warnings when we were in Arizona.
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