Colorado

Mesa Verda

About 1,400 years ago, long before Europeans explored North America, a group of people living in the Four Corners region chose Mesa Verde for their home. For more than 700 years they and their descendants lived and flourished here, eventually building elaborate stone communities in the sheltered alcoves of the canyon walls. Then, in the late A.D. 1200s, in the span of a generation or two, they left their homes and moved away. Mesa Verde National Park preserves a spectacular reminder of this ancient culture

Park Rangers take us on guided tours of the remains of the Pueblo peoples villages in the cliffs.

 This particular ruin is called Cliff Palace.

Because the structures are covered from the elements the buildings have been well preserved.

This picture looks down into a house. The roofs on all the houses are gone. You can see the supports for the timber structure. There is a fire pit in the centre and a small wall protecting it from drafts from the ventilation.

Access to some of the sites was through small holes or by ladder. No Health & Safety people here.

The highest climb.

This was a real test for Chris. A 32' ladder on the edge of a cliff. Chris has a fear of heights but she mustered up great courage to overcome it.

We were warned not to lean against the delicate balcony as there is a very high drop on the other side.

This village was called Balcony House.

The squeezy bit. They have a box in the Visitors Centre. If you can't fit through it you cannot do the tour.

Don't look down!

So many cliff dwellings to see.

The rangers have partially reconstructed a roof to show how they were built.

The houses are not reconstructed but preserved with the original timbers they can find around the site.

Ranger Joe on the right was very entertaining acting out the lives of the Pueblo people. She missed her vocation. She should have been on Broadway.

This village is called Long House.

You can see how dangerous it can be walking close to the edge of vertical drops. No one seems to worry. We were taken down by the Ranger guides in small groups.

We were able to drive around the escarpment and view the dwellings from the roads.

Here is a multi-level development.

I hope I haven't bored you with to many photographs of these villages but this area fascinates me.

San Juan Skyway

We were told to travel the San Juan Skyway as it was reputed to be the most scenic drive in Colorado.

The 375 Km loop starts at Cortez and travels through the mountains to Silverton, Ouray, Ridgway and Telluride. All historic mining towns.

Crater Lake

We descended down through the first mountain range to Silverton. What a gorgeous town. It looked like it was straight out of a John Wayne movie.

The Grand Imperial Hotel

Circa 1882

We wandered around for hours even though it was a very small town.

This cowboy posed for a picture. Chris thought he wasn't going to let her go. And yes, that is a real pistol. It is legal to pack heat in Colorado.

All the streets with the exception of the main street were still unpaved.

It sure is a colourful town.

An attractive private home.

We drove a few miles out of town and discovered this fantastic camp site by the river. 

Switchback.

This hot looking Dodge Viper ACR came up the hill under power just when I was filming.

Every corner opened another magnificent vista.

Large falls pass under the road.

Opposite is a high water fall coming off the melting snow.

Ridgway Fire Station.

Next town was Ouray, the "Switzerland of America". Personally I thought Telluride, the next town fitted the description better.

It did have some nice buildings though.

We did visit Telluride however on the day the famous chairlift had broken down (first time in 13 years) and the main street was closed for resurfacing.

Bridal Veil Falls

(Downloaded photo)

Just outside Telluride. Unfortunately we couldn't negotiate the steep, narrow road with the van on the back.

 A Prairie Dog.

On the outskirts of Telluride is a large farming area with seemingly thousands of Prairie Dogs. We had seen them in the deserts of Arizona and Nevada but were surprised to see a large colony in the mountains.

Slight interruption as the cowboys herded this herd of cattle past us.

Although the picture doesn't show it (the sky was hazy due to fires in the area) this vista looked like the area around Flinders Ranges, SA.