Desert Dwelling

Mesa Verde is tucked away high up into tall cliffs near the top of a mesa in Colorado.

Dwellings of several stories fill the rock alcoves that tower 2,000 feet above Montezuma Valley.  There are approximately 600 dwellings discovered within Mesa Verde dating from about A.D. 550 to 1300.  The Ancestral Pueblo people crafted their dwellings of sandstone, wooden beams, and mortar.

The structures range in size from one-room storage units to villages of more than 150 rooms. 

The Ancestral Pueblo people subsisted by growing crops on nearby mesas, mostly corn.  Water for farming was provided by summer rains, winter snowfall, and seeps and springs nearby.  The men hunted as well. The women are famous for their beautiful baskets.

All photos here are of Spruce Tree House, the third largest cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde.  To visit here, we had to have a guided tour.  

This dwelling was constructed in the early to mid 1200s.  There are about 130 rooms and 8 kivas.  It is believed to have been home for about 60 to 80 people. 
This photo and the one below were taken at a distance.

Yes, we did climb up this ladder!  Here is our intrepid guide Denise.

view from across the canyon  (See the ladder?  just below the dwellings on the right)


Mesa Verde (means Green Table) is located in the high plateau country of southwestern Colorado. The park itself lies atop a high mesa that rises from the canyon cut by the Mancos River.

a few facts:

∎ The park was created in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt.
∎ Mesa Verde National Park encompasses 52,122 acres (81 square miles).  
∎ Elevation on Mesa Verde varies between 6,000 and 8,500 feet.
∎ Mesa Verde is also recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  This link will take you to a world wide list.
∎ The climate is semi-arid. 
∎ Spruce Tree House was built into a natural alcove measuring 216 feet (66 meters) at its greatest width and 89 feet (27 meters) at its greatest depth.


LINKS:
∎ National Park website 
∎ National Geographic 
∎ National Park information about Spruce Tree House
∎ Maps of Mesa Verde @ Desert USA
∎ travelog- a family visits Mesa Verde @ Abingdon Outdoors
∎ maps and information about North American deserts @ Desert USA with links

Alphabe-Thursday, hosted by Ms Jenny, is so much fun!  This week our letter is "D." Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun! 

 

photos by me © 2007   all rights reserved

under

Today was uncharacteristically warm--in the low 80s.  The bees were ravishing the cherry blossoms!

I am under Oliver snapping his portrait!  (He found a cozy spot on top of a pillow.)

I'm under this airplane taking a photo.  See me reflected? (Although for vanity's sake, I must say the reflection does make me look a little wider and rather square.)
(Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force Aviation Museum in Phoenix, Arizona)

a city under the cliffs!  Mesa Verde was home to the ancestral Pueblo people from about AD 600-1300.

Chihuly glass is so beautiful!  I was privileged to see a major installation at the Desert Botanical Garden Museum in Phoenix Arizona in April 2009  

Carolina wrens made an igloo-like nest in a pot of parsley on my deck last May.

LINKS:
Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force 
Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, USA (means green table)
Dale Chihuly website
a new upcoming Chihuly exhibit at the Desert Botanical Museum in Phoenix November 9, 2013 - May 11, 2014!!
Desert Botanical Garden 
ZOOM! my blog post on the Carolina wrens with photos and information
My past blog posts with Chihuly glass:
G is for....
Lakes 
Violets
purple 

Alphabe-Thursday, hosted by Ms Jenny, is so much fun!  This week our letter is "U."  Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun!
 


 


photos by me © 2007, 2009, 2012, and 2013  all rights reserved

Colorado

scenes along the way...

traveling from Pagosa Springs to

Mesa Verde

and back again

Do you see the shooting star?

I'm so happy Ms Jenny has decided to do another round of Alphabe-Thursday! This is such a fun meme!  Thank you, Ms Jenny!  Come and join in the fun!  You will be charmed and even enlightened in a delightful way!  See more entries HERE. This week our letter is "C." 

I'm also participating in SkyWatch Friday, another fun meme with lovely photographs from all over the world!  SkyWatch Friday is hosted by Wren, fishing guy, Sylvia, Klaus, and Sandy.

photos by me © 2007