Mesa Verde

Well we’ve now returned from our whirlwind tour and I’ve just put on 3 loads of washing!! Not that we did a lot of activities that involved getting dirty! We were mostly taking in the stunning vistas and diverse landscape from the car…with the odd wee walk here and there.

First of all we drove through southwestern Colorado into the San Juan mountains and stayed in the trendy mountain town of Durango…all outdoor activities imaginable…including a whitewater park right in town!


David also saw a mountain lion cross the road in front of our car …I only saw it’s rear end and tail disappear into the bushes….still pretty exciting though! Sorry no pictures!

The following day we went to Mesa Verde National Park to view the ancient (1400 years ago) cliff dwellings of the ancestral Puebloan culture. They built these elaborate homes into the cliffs which they had to climb in and out of using hand and toe hold trails cut into the rock.
We had a few options for tours and it was decided that Grandpa, David and the kids would go on the adventurous Balcony house tour which involved climbing a 32ft ladder, crawling through a tight tunnel and climbing up a 60ft open rock face with two ladders!! Mum and I opted for a more leisurely drive with short walks and views.