Mesa Verde National Park is an American National Park and UNESCO
World Heritage Site located in Montezuma County CO. The park protects
some of the best-preserved Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites in the
United States. It was established by Congress and
President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906.
We entered from the Durango side of the park (not the Cortez NM
entry), which means you drive about 20 miles on a very
scenic road which has many shape curves and steep grades.
We were here once before, entering from the Cortez side
some 36 years ago.
First stop today, "Knife Edge" an ancient road that traversed this area.
Close-up of the tree you see in the photo above.
Todays feature, the cliff dwellings. And I am pleased to
present these up close and personal views thanks to the
90 power zoom on my video camera that also allows me
to take still shots too. Each has a name... This one is called Cliff Palace.
This is Sun Point.
(Remember to click on any photo for an enlarged view.)
Cliff Dwelling near Navajo Canyon
The Oak Tree House
Then we headed up to the highest point in the park
to take a look at the view from the Fire Lookout, which
obviously gave us a 360 degree view.
And from this vantage point you could see 4 states...
AZ, CO, NM & UT (the four corners area).
Surrounding the fire lookout at an elevation of 8572'
we saw this Beach Pea (related to the sweet pea). The name
"beach" at this elevation brought a smile to this photographers
face. I knew what it was because I have an app on my iphone
called PlantSnap. Just put the camera real close, include flower
and leaves, snap and it gives you an identification. Works
on plants and trees.
This one is Creeping Laurel and it grows about 5 feet tall
way up here!!!
As we turned around and headed back to Durango,
the clouds presented us with an
eye dazzling dance (and a few rain drops). Stay tuned...
No comments:
Post a Comment