Mesa Verde NP

5-26-09

This is Mesa Verde NP--home of "cliff dwellers"---a group of Ancestral Puebloans who lived here between 1100 and 1300 A.D. Amazing, isn't it? This particular cliff-dwelling is called Cliff Palace and we took a guided tour with a ranger to take a closer look at these very unique homes. In this view, we are way up on top of the cliff...and we are going to climb our way down to the ancient dwellings and listen to our guide tell us about the homes and the people and then we are going to climb back out again.

I tried not to think about the fact that we were on the side of a cliff and there was at least 500 ft. between us and the ground. Even a teenager thought this was a "cool" tour.

There are more places to see in Mesa Verde like Balcony House which requires much more climbing of ladders, crawling through tunnels, and steep and narrow walkways and I figured I was better off leaving well enough alone.

5-27-09

We drove to 4 corners monument in Navajo country where the states of Colorado, Arizona Utah, and New Mexico meet.

Jesse met a fellow Steelers fan here and Randy and I tried a "Navajo taco"

The "taco" part is Navajo frybread and OMG, they are so good! This taco didn't have meat, just beans, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and picante sauce and it was delicious. I still think about Navajo tacos and will have to learn how to make them myself.