Mesa Verde & Durango
One of the crown jewels of Southwest Colorado is seeing the Pueblo dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park. We had no idea that the park was so mountainous! Definitely the most challenging driving David has done yet in the RV. Well worth it, though, even with the downside that we could not actually tour the dwellings because of Covid. Guess it’s something to come back for and do with our kids someday! We drove the whole park over a couple of days and got to see all the dwellings from afar. It’s really amazing how the Anasazi people built these cities here and survived for a long time. There were a few short hikes we took to look out points viewing the canyon and some of the dwellings.
Spruce Tree House 
Closest we could get to the Cliff Palace 
Can you see the cliffside dwelling on the right? 
Balcony House – Natives of all ages would make this climb, sometimes multiple times a day! 
Zoomed in view of Balcony House 
The oldest Pueblo dwellings, these pit houses, predate the cliff structures. They’re now covered for preservation from the elements 
These pit houses originally had roofs of sticks/grass/straw/ mud 
Vent holes dug all that snaked into the side of the ground dwellings for fresh air ventillation 
This was the deepest pit house – we thought it looked kind of like an igloo! You can see where the air vent is dug flowing into the left side 
The Cliff Palace from a different angle 
The Sun Temple 
Sun Temple’s purpose is a mystery today. There are no entrance ways, it’s completely enclosed except for “window” holes a few feet wide 
Zoomed in shots of the Cliff Palace 
Golden Eagle….? 
Driving back down the mountains and mesas to our campsite 
Knife’s Edge Road, which I’m standing on, was one of the original entrance roads to the park (built in 1914). It has all but eroded away today 
A little bit downslope from the “Knife’s Edge” formation, you can see a bit of a ledge, which is the remnants of the old road 
Park Point Fire Lookout 
Park Point in Mesa Verde is known as one of the grandest views in the entire US. On a clear day, you can see for hundreds of miles in every direction 
You can see 4 different states from Park Point: CO, UT, AZ, and NM 
Park Point
We stayed in Durango for just one night on our way back to Denver to catch a flight. We hope to stay longer next time as we didn’t get too much time to explore. Steamworks Brewing was a fun stop for dinner and beers.
The beer foam Death Star!!!
Hoppy Purpose 