6/1/12 Friday

After getting around we drove to Mesa Verde National Park. It was a long slow climb with twists and turns to get to the visitor center where we had a late lunch. We also bought two T-shirts for $20 --a bargain.

It was regular mountain road driving. The road also had a nice tunnel to go through. We finally got to the first place to see Cliff Dwellings-- Cliff Palace--boy we were huffing and puffing just after going to the overlook. The altitude here is about 7,000 ft with some parts of the drive 8000-9000 ft. AFter this we saw the pit houses, the sun temple and from there you can look back at the Cliff Palace.

It is so hard to imagine how these dwellings could be constructed and last this long -- all without modern machinery and technology. The history of these dwellings is very interesting--they were built between 500-1200 AD. This national park is also a World Heritage site. They are building a new visitor information center near the hiway which is supposed to be open later this year. We may have to return to see that at some point. We got home and were pooped so took a nap and ate breakfast (eggs,bacon, hashbrowns) for supper at the cafe next to the RV park.