Mesa Verde

Mesa Verde

.....So continuing from the previous post---we get to the town by Mesa Verde and since we have decided to not get a hotel we sleep in the truck (it is about 3 am when we stop).  About 8 am rolls around and we wake up.  We have slept in the walmart parking lot.  When we get out of the truck a few employees are outside smoking.  I am sure they think we are homeless as we get our kids out of the truck to go in to the bathroom and get breakfast.  I felt a little embarrassed by the whole thing too.

Also I think I am getting old because I hurt for the next week after that! 

We get to Mesa Verde early morning and hit the visitor center. 

This is a statue called "the storyteller"

I really liked it. 

There are two ruins you can go to--this one has places you can touch the rock (not many), and go into  a Kiva, the other one isn't as interactive, but it has a cool rope latter---

I remember climbing it when I was young--

They had two story buildings

A neat little bridge

The CCC came in (in the 30's and 40's) and built steps and a trail so that people can hike all around the park. My grandpa was a member of the CCC in Utah--that is how he met my grandma.  Anywho....

Sedona liked how the rocks had cool formations from the water run off. 

Who would have guessed that behind this hill is a whole civilization waiting to be explored.

These neat little indents and crevices were everywhere.

Even in the bottom of rocks--

(Pun Intended!--hard to tell but that is Pepper bottom peeking through the hole in the rock)

These are some rock carvings   They are very old and according to experts they tell of the migrations of the people who lived in this area.

Lucas throwing some gang signs--Wheeler was such a good boy, but after 3 days in a carrier he was getting a little sick of it. 

Trees grown out of the rocks all over in this area.

We went on the normal trail and then found out about the 'long' trail --- so of course we took it.  Hours later we arrive back at the rangers station.  

The trail is pretty hidden.  When we were on the main trail we had passed the long trail and hadn't even seen it.  

My kids are amazing hikers!  They hiked for hours with few complaints!

While visiting the Ranger Station they filled out a Jr. ranger program booklet and became official Jr. Rangers.

They were given a badge and sworn to help protect the earth.  It was actually really neat I thought. 

Wish we could have done it at the Grand Canyon too--not sure if Sedona has that program or not. 

This is the largest of the ruins.  You have to pay about $3 a person to go in and have an assigned time to enter.  We decided not to do it because we didn't know what our schedule was like--I am glad we didn't cause our hike took all day.

Lucas wants to come back some day and do it--since it is about 4 hours or so from our house I bet we will. 

In the "village" we visited you could go into a Kiva and see what it was like.  It was small and lighter then I thought it would be. 

The hike we took had some close squeezes---Wheeler had fallen asleep so his head was sticking out, but Lucas didn't hit it once!