Day 39. To Mesa Verde, Colorado.

Tuesday, September 16th.

Today we bid farewell to Utah and rode into Colorado. Immediately it seemed as though the temperature was 10 degrees cooler - a welcome relief. Also, the scenery was generally much greener and quite a contrast from the desert landscape we have been immersed in for the last several days.

Our first destination was Mesa Verde, another National Park. We were rewarded with an amazing ride along 20 miles of beautiful roadways in the park itself and gradually climbed up onto the Mesa itself.

At first sight our destination wasn't ever so impressive:

But closer inspection revealed this:

Ancient cliff dwellings of the Pueblo Indians. During the 1200's these people lived on top of the Mesa and were hunter gatherers. Gradually, they changed their lifestyle and grew crops, raised turkeys and so started to build more permanent homes. Initially they built Pueblos on top of the Mesa. Then during the last 100 years of their time on the Mesa they moved under the sandstone cliffs and built dwellings there. It is thought they were being threatened by outside forces and the cliff dwellings were more secure and easier to defend. For some reason they gradually left. It is conjectured that prolonged drought caused them to migrate to other areas.

We were visiting The Spruce Tree House. This was discovered in 1888 and is remarkably well preserved. There are 114 rooms and 8 Kivas and it is estimated that 100 - 150 people lived here at it's peak. There are many other sites on the Mesa Verde and they are very rich archeologically with lots of  artifacts still being discovered. These findings give much insight into the life of these people.

We were able to hike down to the dwellings themselves:

The dark staining is soot from their fires

The poles are leading down into the Kivas:

We were even able to go down into one which had been reconstructed:

This is a kiva without it's roof. It is thought that these were used for ceremonies.

 There are even signs of early interior decorating, it looks like a Union Jack to me!

This is where the women would grind their grains:

It is incredible how everything was safely tucked under the cliff overhang:

 After spending about two hours in the fascinating museum at the top of the cliff, we pulled ourselves away, had our picnic lunch in the park and rode along the top of the Mesa itself. The views over the surrounding valleys were amazing.

 Looking back over the Mesa - fun road:

Then we rode back off the Mesa to our destination for the night, Mancos, Colorado. This is a tiny town about 20 miles West of Durango. The bikes are having another spa day tomorrow!