The Plan:
Day 3
1) Visit the truck wash and resolve the billing issue (Completed. See my previous post.)
2) Drive to Mesa Verde National Park
3) Shoot all day
4) Return to the hotel in Farmington
Day 4
1) Drive back to Albuquerque
2) Have lunch
3) Airport, fly home to Seattle
Although the latter half of our photography weekend lacked the adventure to of the first two days, I thoroughly enjoyed it more. Perhaps it was putting Chaco Canyon behind us, or maybe because the sun came out, but I think the main reason was that I really liked Mesa Verde National Park.
We crossed into Southern Colorado early Saturday morning... The weather didn't look promising -- thick rain clouds poured out on us, and hindered our ability to take in the scenic surroundings as we drove through Colorado. And although by the time we reached the entrance to Mesa Verde, the rain had stopped it was instead replaced by a thick shroud of fog. The windy mountain road often disappeared fifteen feet in front of us... Fortunately, we followed the steady pace of a semi-truck, its brake lights providing early warning to any tight turns or obstacles that may have been in the roadway. (I wish I had a picture to show you, but since I was driving, my hands were locked in "2" and "10" position on the steering wheel.)
In spite of the weather, both Norman and I were in good spirits. We saw the fog as an opportunity to capture some unique photographs. Neither of us had every seen an image of the cliff dwellings cloaked in fog, and with Halloween the following weekend, the idea seemed fitting for the season. But just as we discussed it, we suddenly emerged out of the cloud into the clear valley below. The thought of foggy cliff ruins disappated as quickly as the fog itself.
Due to the timing of our trip, we were not able to see many of the sites around the park since many had closed for the season the weekend before. But we had enough to see to keep us occupied for the day anyway. The three main locations we visited were located on the "Chapin Mesa"- the "Spruce Tree House",(ruins), "Cliff Palace" (ruins), and the "Mesa Top Loop" (driving loop).
The cliff dwellings were built in Mesa Verde roughly the same time as Chaco Canyon (800AD - 1100 AD)...
There are also numerous thoughts of why the natives built their dwellings in the cliffs in the first place. A few possibilities reasons are protection from the weather (it's cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter), protection from foes (most likely a neighboring tribe rather than anybody else), and closer to water sources. It is also unknown why the inhabitants left the cliffs after 3 centuries, but there are multiple theories. Some same it was due to the lack of food, or perhaps epic draughts. Regardless, all that are left now are the stone and mortar they spent lifetimes to build.
I'll let the pictures do most of the talking for me, but one thing I did want to share is the "kiva". To the untrained eye, a kiva is simply a hole in the ground. But it meant so much more to the people who live in these dwellings. The kiva was communial place where people could come together. They would dig large pits into the ground, 8-10 feet deep. Then they would cover the roof with tree trunks and thick limbs. To complete the roof, they would cover it with earth, leaving only a small hole to use as the entrance and chimney.
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| In... |
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| Out... |
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| Look for ladders, and you'll find kivas. |
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| An uncovered kiva |
So there you go... a synaposis of our weekend in the desert plateaus of the Southwest. To spare you from the boredom, the return home was uneventful, with only a flight delay to report. In hindsight, it was a trip filled with lessons, stories, and history. I am sure as time passes, I'll look upon this trip with more fondness, and be reminded of the adventures that Norman and I endured.
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