July 25th - Day 43
When we first decided to go to Mesa Verde National Park on our trip, we vaguely knew what it entailed. It was more or less just another National Park that was on the way to the Grand Canyon. We have sense learned that Mesa Verde is the only national park that is a cultural national park. All other national parks are national parks due to the their natural beauty. The US government knew the significance of this site early on and made it the 7th national park in the country (I think there are nearly 60 now).
A few highlights/moments from the day:
The morning started off a little slower than most other mornings. Our friend, Jennifer made breakfast, Becca was able to do several loads of laundry at the camp store, and I worked for a few hours. Not necessarily the pace at which we want to start all mornings on our trip, but it was a good pace for today.
The big adventure for the day was a guided tour through Mesa Verde. We were all amazed of the different sites that we saw, specifically the Cliff Palace site where we climbed down steep stairs and ladders to access the ancient dwellings. It is amazing that after 700 years, these structures still stand. We were also very fortunate as the Cliff Palace has been closed for the last several years and literally just opened again yesterday. I had no clue about the timing of the opening when I booked the tour and figured it would probably still be closed. Thunderstorms showed themselves while on our tour, but thankfully after our semi treacherous hike down to Cliff Palace.
We wrapped up the day with a campfire, which we have only done a few times on our trip. Aubrey bought pie irons to make “mountain pies”, which she learned about earlier in our trip from the Mucci’s, and others enjoyed roasted marshmallows and smores.
We were blessed by the clear sky and the stars that lit it up, and a dear friend who knew all the constellations. Mesa Verde is considered a dark park, which means that there is very little to no light pollution that limits one’s ability to see the stars.
A few pictures from the day:
