Mesa Verde has been quite a memorable park so far. I was able to take a guided tour of 3 different cliff dwellings and view a couple other sites on my own. It’s surreal to walk through ancient ruins and spot pieces of broken pottery over 800 years old.

I have a lot of respect for these Ancestral Peubloan, who fashioned entire villages wedged into cliff alcoves. They chipped hand and foot holds into the rock that they used to climb up, over, and into their fields on the top of the mesa. Scrambling down the rock face, slipping through tiny tunnels, and climbing up into their rooms made history truly come alive.