Mesa Verde National Park

Spruce Tree House

At this point in our trip we seemed to take a turn from biology & geology to anthropology.  We began our education of the ancient Puebloan peoples and their sacred sites.  In these places I hesitated being a tourist.  These sites are the tangible remains of a grand civilization and it is clear that their descendants honor the places.  Much of the understanding of the people is lost to pre-history.   In the minds of present-day descendants these places are alive with the past.  The ways of knowing, living, and thriving in these desert environments are lost; unfortunately our society does value the cultivation of such knowledge.  The Ancient Puebloans were of the earth and worked with it to craft their civilization.  Today we seek dominion over the natural world it as if we were aliens upon this planet instead of the children.  These and many other thoughts came to mind as we existed in these spaces.  It is quite remarkable.  It seems right to approach these sites with a sense of the sacred in mind.

This stop also marked our return to the desert.  Though the elevation still provided some relief from the intense heat of Phoenix, highs were in the 90s and we had to remember sunscreen, water and snacks when we embarked on our hiking adventures.  One of our first adventures was to Step House.  This was a one mile roundtrip hike that starts 100 feet above the pueblo.  You hike down to the ruins and then back up along a winding path through the yucca and other high desert plants.  It was a hot hike - the hottest we had been on all summer, but it was rewarding to come around a curve and see the pueblo ahead of us.

Step House is just visible in the shade of the cliff wall

A pit house was reconstructed at Step House to give us an idea of how some of the earliest dwellings of the area were fashioned.

To the kids the best part of these tours were the ladders.  The best way to enter a cliff dwelling is the same way the original occupants entered.  Touring many of these ruins requires some effort and few are accessible to all populations.  Step House was one of the few that was on the accessible side of the spectrum.  You didn't have to climb the ladder, but my kids weren't going to pass up that opportunity!

Step House was a self-guided tour and you could borrow the guide from the rangers at the trail head.  The numbers were clear as you walked the trail.  We enjoy these types of tours as we like to stop along the path and read aloud to the kids.  We can also dive deeper into any concepts that need explanation.  It helps that Husband has his BS in Anthropology - as he can always provide a bit more information and context.  All of our National Park trips are an extension of the school year and fit beautifully into the life of a homeschool family.  One fact that was eye-opening was learning that of the 61 National Parks, Mesa Verde is the only one that preserves the cultural artifacts of ancient peoples.  The rest of the National Parks preserve the natural world.  There are over 4.000 archaeological sites in Mesa Verde.




Many of the sites can be observed via a driving tour and short walks to overlooks.  Getting to the sites requires driving over the mesas by traveling up, down and around the mountainous terrain.  There are three guided hikes that require tickets.  Cliff Palace is an hour tour and the least strenuous.  Even so ladder climbing is necessary to exit the site.  Reading the description of the tour we were unsure if it was something we should all do - we were worried about Sister, but looking back our fears were unfounded.  At one point I heard a ranger saying something to the effect that they never worry about the kids, its the parents that sometimes have a hard time with the tours!  As it turned out Brother and I ended up going on the tour first by ourselves and then we all went a second time as a family.  I could have gone on the tour many more times because each ranger has their own way of discussing the site and just being in the site is a mysterious and wondrous experience.

Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwellings with around 150 rooms.  It was built in the 1200s and was occupied for around 600 years.  It is absolutely amazing. 

The T shaped windows are common in the pueblos

One of many kivas

 As I mentioned...ladders...there are 100 feet of ladders to exit this site.  The kids didn't mind this one bit, in fact they thought it was a lot of fun. 

We will certainly go back to this park.  Next time I want to tour Balcony House which has more ladders as well as one or more tunnels you have to crawl through.  We really enjoyed this park and would like to visit earlier in the summer or at a different time of year to avoid the heat!  If you go, be sure to check out the archaeological museum - we really enjoyed learning about the many artifacts on display.