Mesa Verde

Again, it's been too long since my last blog but so much is going on to occupy my time! The Tour, Miller wanting to go swimming, being at home, all that OTHER stuff:) Enough of the excuses, here is my latest adventure....Mesa Verde!

"Mesa Verde, Spanish for 'green table', rises high above the surrounding country. For about 1,300 years, agrarian Indians occupied the mesa and surrounding regions. From the hundreds of dwellings that remain, archeologists have compiled one of the most significant chapters in the story of prehistoric America." - back of the postcard I bought.

 This was the line to get tickets! hahaha! This almost cracked us but we made it....

 The view while we were in line...

 Angela was a bit put out and couldn't understand why they weren't moving faster, she asked, "Maybe they are having coffee inside."

 Still standing in line - view...

 Finally! Driving up towards the tour spots.  These trees are dead from a fire from 10 years ago.  They said it will take 400 years for it to look green again.

 Navajo Indian fry bread! Had to try it! I think it would've been better w/ just honey and sugar but sure, I'll take it "Chipotle" style...

 Which car sticks out?

 View from our first tour - The Balcony House...

 Soooooo, we are going to come up this ladder????

 Tour guide! Last name...Wheeler:)

 I'm already sitting, we haven't even started walking anywhere! Lazy cyclists!

 The walk down...

 Here is our first ladder...

 But first, we learn a little bit about the ancient folks....

 Instructions on going up..

 2 at a time...

 This is what we see when we get up there....this is cool stuff!!

 We go from big wide open spaces, to tiny, crawling spaces...

 Walking into another tiny spot, behind the walls...

 This is their building materials, clay, sandstone and wood fibers...

 It's just cool stuff!

 Looking to the other side..

 Here is a kiva, it was their kitchen, keeping warm spot and ritual spot.....it was supposed to have a roof on it..

 Looking into one of the windows...

 The national parks numbered each area to keep up with all the rooms...

 This would be where they ground the corn...

 Another tight squeeze....

 Yep, here we go!

 Now up the ladder...don't look down

 This is what we were climbing:) Told you not to look down...

 Tour #2, Cliff Palace...

 The view from the top!

 Walking in...

 Level with the dwellings, you can see the tour ahead of us to the far right.

 Tour guide #2...

 Me not listening and taking pictures instead....

 This is our tour, walking around to the dwellings..

 The view from the dwellings, looking back to where we started the tour....

 Self portrait...

 Angela and I..

 Dwelling paintings!

One last view!

It was an all day excursion and we only saw a piece of the park.  There is a hotel and a couple of restaurants at the park and now I understand why.  I would love to spend the weekend there and take it all in, maybe some day.

Next up in the racing scene is the Boise criterium, then on to Bend, OR for Cascade Cycling Classic.  I love Cascade, it is such a great race and a great time of the year and Bend is a cool town!

Reading: tour maps from Mesa Verde
Listening: Pontoon, by Little Big Town ( funny song)
Eating: Pineapple
Watching: Le Tour
Training: today is easy 1 1/2hrs....I had a long weekend, Saturday group ride/Sunday long ride.  Now I'm getting ready for Cascade..