Mesa Verde National Park is a huge archeological site, that covers hundreds of buildings, the cliff dwellings being the most fascinating, occupied by the Anasazi (or to be politically correct: Ancestral Puebloans) until 1300. The park also claims to have pumas. We didn’t get to see those, but we did see a cute little fox, running away from our car.
The cliff dwellings cannot be entered, except in the presence of a park ranger. Some of them are even only accessible via a guided tour. We visited Cliff Palace that way (other cliff dwellings were already closed for the season) with a group of approximately 15 people. To reach the cliff dwellings, you have to descend/ascend a bunch of steep paths and ladders. The rangers that guided our tour was a very enthusiastic and good storyteller. I guess the group was enthusiastic too, because there were so many questions asked, that we ran out of time and had to rush the rest of the tour.
Spruce Tree House is another cliff dwelling that is freely accessible, though there is always a ranger present. One of the important features that you find throughout Mesa Verde and other historical sites are Kivas: small, round, ceremonial rooms, build into the ground. For the rest, we mostly saw ruins of Pithouses and Kivas on the lands above the cliffs and cliff dwellings from a distance (like Square Tower House).
For more photo's, check picasa
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