How did the Cliff Dwellers climb up there???

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Well, it rained almost all of last night, so we weren't too sure what we would wake up to, but it was just cloudy and cool and no rain this morning!  Dad took Mom and I to a place called Mesa Verde, which was just up the road from camp.  It was a real pretty drive because the oaks were all different colors.  When we got to the National Park, a lot of stuff was already closed because it is the end of the season, but by the end of the day, Mom and Dad felt like they saw pretty much all they wanted to see.  Mesa Verde is a place where ancient Indians lived in cliff dwellings and pueblos and we went and saw the ruins.  They obviously didn't have any dogs in those cliff dwellings unless they were REALLY good CLIMBERS!  In some of the cliff dwellings, they had to use ladders and little toe holds chipped out of the sandstone!  It was really interesting to see how those people lived and the Park Service did a good job of letting the public come in and see some of them.  Oh, and Mom found a baby tarantula - ugly thing!  Anyway, here are some pictures.



The Indians build these dwellings
tucked under the cliffs and used
ladders and toe holds to climb
in and out of them.



Mom's cute tarantula!



This tower is FOUR stories tall!




This is a view from half way up, looking down into the valley - notice
the snow on the San Juan Mountains in the background!

 Yes, that is snow!  Dad said before we leave here (we will be here for 7 nights) he would take me to the snow and let me play around in it!  It's supposed to snow some more the next couple of days!  I think Mom is ready to find some warmer weather already, but she brought warm cloths, so she will be OK.  Besides, I can keep her warm, especially at night when I snuggle between Mom and Dad in bed!!!  It's a dog's life!  I wonder what today will bring?

Oh, and someone asked Mom about the map...well, Mom is still working on it, but needs to figure out how to update it without having to redo it every time.  She thinks she has figured it out, but we will see.  Another fun fact - we have traveled over 1,370 miles from camp to camp, but have traveled a total of over 3,200 miles running around the country!  There sure is alot to see out there!  Until next time.......