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View from the road on the way to
the mountain, Mesa Verde, CO (6/18) |
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This horse was very protective of
the foal I was trying to photograph with it's mother. He kept neighing
and blocking my shot. |
This was the clearest shot I
could get of Mama horse with her baby. |
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Standing underneath this
sandstone alcove, the ranger explained to the group that sandstone holds a
tremendous amount of water. Eventually the water collects, and
trickles down the side into the shale rock below, forming a spring.
This is how the native Pueblos gathered their water. Mesa Verde
National Park, Mesa Verde, CO (6/19) |
Jonathan distracts me from the
tour momentarily, to get a shot of me with the cliff dwelling in the
background. |
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Eventually we all climb up this
ladder, then crawl through a tiny space into another court yard. |
The ranger explains the flow of
air and fire inside this beautiful kiva, which was used for religious
ceremonial purposes. Usually, the kivas are covered with logs and clay
so people can walk on top of them. You would enter by ladder through a
small hole in the top. |
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Climbing the ladder to head to
the next courtyard. There are specially carved foot holes in the rock
to help make it easier. |
Jonathan making it look GOOD! |
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The fire would go in the center
pit, as air from outside the kiva would come in, blow against the small
brick wall and be distributed evenly throughout the kiva. This allowed
the warm air to rise out of the top easily. The small hole to the
upper left of the fire pit is the Sipapu- the ceremonial hole from where the
people originated in the creation story. |
Standing at the edge of the
courtyard, with Soda Canyon behind us. |
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Good thing I'm not
claustrophobic... |
Good thing Jonathan skipped
breakfast! |
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Our buddy Randy |
This was only the eight foot
ladder. The 32 foot one was MUCH scarier! |
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Thousands of acres burned in the
lightening storms of 1972 and 2003. Some trees are slowly coming back,
although these ones were more recently burned. They reminded us of the
trees we saw in Greensburg, Kansas that were hit by a tornado |
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This prairie dog caught a fish,
and it was THIS big! Outside of the Wal-Mart parking lot, Mesa Verde,
CO (6/20) |
Kissing prairie dogs |
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The view from our campground. |
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Turkey Vultures are common at
dusk in the canyon. |
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Jonathan at Spruce Tree House |
We took the self-guided tour
inside Spruce Tree House, including a climb down inside one of the kivas. |
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Right after we heard a little
girl say, "I wish I could see some caterpillars", this little one showed up! |
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Along our 3 mile hike toward the
Petroglyphs. |
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The black markings are "desert
varnish". They form when water spills over the cliff and black lichens
form. |
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Stopping along the trail to read
about local plant life and the geological history of the canyon. |
Getting closer... |
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Almost there... |
We made it!!! These
petroglyphs are over a thousand years old. They tell the story of
several different clans' migration through these cliff dwellings. |
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We can see the finish line in the
distance! |
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Me and the crew at Mama Ree's-
Randy, Mama Ree and De (from left to right) |
103 degrees, baby!! |
