Yippee! We make it to Mesa Verde National Park. What a perfect day for it. The ride from Farmington to Mesa Verde is just gorgeous. Valleys, hills, cows and horses, mountains, etc. These elevations get plenty of Spring and color is everywhere.
Not 30 minutes into our drive we spotted the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado. Really beautiful. We spotted them, drove toward them, drove right along side them, then saw them again from atop Mesa Verde. Also saw Shiprock from the Mesa.
Mesa Verde is amazing. There are over 600 cliff dwellings within the park. Here you can walk through ruins, like at Chaco, or view them from afar. Like Chaco, Mesa Verde is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Following the park map is easy and you can pick and choose which ruins you see. There is a picnic area by the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum center which is set up like a campground - each picnic site has a parking spot, picnic table, and grill. While we had lunch, we called my mom to thank her for the picnic tablecloth. Came in very handy.
At Mesa Verde you see cliff dwellings but also pithouses, the structures that pre-date both the pueblo and the kiva structures. We walked around the ruins of Spruce Tree House. Sally ventured down into a kiva, an underground, circular room used for ceremonies. With all my camera gear and a backpack on, I passed on the chance to squirm down a narrow ladder into a small dark room.
We didn't get to the hike we were considering. The description mentioned 8-10 ladder climbs. And we really didn't have time if we wanted to get to Chama before dark. We did get to view several of the most well-known cliff dwellings from Sun Point. My photos of this section are not so good. Viewing the dwellings from afar was a little more than either of my cameras could handle well. I limited the shots here to the close up stuff and a few far away shots. You get the idea.
We're headed down to Spruce Tree Ruins to walk around.
You can see the top of the ladder that leads down into the kiva.
What did this ancient symbol mean? Someone's address? A personal note? A warning?
A look down into a kiva.
Before the cliff dwellings were the pithouses.
Looking out over the valley. We saw a red-tail hawk.
Step House Ruins. You can see a couple of park rangers working.
Following are some mediocre shots from Sun Point. The sun was in the completely wrong place and neither camera could handle it. I've got lots of postcards so I'm OK.
The beautiful San Juan Mountains as seen from Mesa Verde.
ON TO CHAMA, NEW MEXICO
Leaving Mesa Verde, our sights were on Chama, NM. Some of the towns we drove through were Mancos then Hesperus, then Durango. Must have coffee. How about Durango Joe's Coffee? It was OK. Plus, it was easy to exit and re-enter the highway from this place. After coffee we drove through Bayfield and Pagosa Springs. Soon we dipped back down into New Mexico and arrived in Chama, New Mexico, elevation 7,860 ft. Chama is home to the historic Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad which eats up 5-7 tons of coal to make the sixty-four mile trip from Chama, NM to Antonio, CO. We stayed at the Chama Station Inn run by a woman named, Beverly, a glass jeweler. Sally picked up really cool earrings from her collection. Beverly was pet sitting for a parakeet - Baby Jesus, no lie. After getting recommendations for food we chose dinner at the High Country Restaurant & Saloon. For my money, The High Country had the best tortillas of the whole trip. Perfect thickness, chewiness, and flavor. I had fajitas. I know, sounds cliche but these were not the fajitas you get at a chain restaurant. The chicken was tender and had lots of flavor. Plus, it was accompanied by green chile. Nice and spicy. And once you put any food inside a homemade tortilla, it's automatically better.
Coffee at Durango Joe's.
Our room at the Chama Station Inn.
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