On Thursday 10/13 we left Mesa Verde because the Campground closed for the season at 11:00a.m. We decided to head home. During our four days there we did not have internet so this post is a culmination of our time there.
Camping at Morefield Campground
We spent four fabulous days visiting Mesa Verde National Park. During our stay we camped in Morefield Campground. We did three hikes, one ranger guided tour, one self-guided tour, a motorcycle ride, visited the visitor center and I hiked the Knife Ridge Trail twice.
Before entering into Mesa Verde we stopped at the visitor center to get some information. While there we talked to the ranger and he explained what roads were open and gave us information on the hiking trails and the park. Then we walked around the center and looked at the exhibits.
Mesa Verde Visitor Center
A sculpture at the entrance of the visitor center
Before getting to the campground there is Morefield Village, it has showers, restrooms, coin operated laundry and gas pumps. It also has a restaurant, that serves a pancake breakfast and a grocery store. Your check in at the store, the lady fills out a card and gives it to you. You go to the campground and find an empty site you like and put the card on the post. Most campgrounds today assign you a site. This was great because you may want to move to another site during your stay and you just have to take your card and put it on the other post. The campground has one power loop which you have to reserve online but they are always full. It also has a tent loop and the rest are first come first serve RV loops. We saw deer walking through campsites and a coyote walk through the campground.
Deer in the campground
Cliff Palace & Spruce Tree House & Petroglyph Trail
Cliff Palace was a 30 minute ranger guided tour and you had to register for the tour. We arrived an hour early and the ranger said we could do the tour early because it wasn't full. We started by climbing down to where the dwellings were and another ranger took over. He explained the history of the dwellings, how they were preserving them by fixing the cracks and talked about the people who had lived there. We walked through the dwellings and stopped at a Kiva, the ranger explained what it was used for. It is round chamber built in or near every village or homestead and is usually underground. They were most likely used for combined religious, social and utilitarian purposes. We climbed four ladders during the tour. The ladders were wooden and similar to what were used by the people who lived there. The last ladder was very steep and it took you out of the dwelling to the parking lot. The dwelling was huge.
Climbing one of the ladders
Part of the Cliff Palace
Another part of the dwelling
Part of the dwelling
Our tour guide
After our tour we drove around the Chaplin Mesa area to the Spruce Tree House. The Spruce Tree House used to be open for a self-guided tours but they closed it in 2015 because of rocks falling. We hiked the Petroglyph Trail, a 2.4 mile loop that was very strenuous, we climbed over 227 feet in elevation, squeezed between boulders, climbed narrow stone staircases, scrambled up rocks and hiked on uneven sandstone. We had to climb up 1.4 miles to get to the top of the mesa. Then we hiked a mile back to the Spruce Tree House. During the hike we saw a small dwelling and a petroglyph panel. At the end we saw the Spruce Tree House. It was a great hike.
A narrow passageway during the Petroglyph Point Trail
Dwelling along the hike
Spruce Tree House
A view of the Spruce Canyon
Wetherill Mesa Hiking
Due to weight our motor home is not allowed on the road to Wetherill Mesa so we drove the Minnie to Far View restaurant where we unloaded the motorcycle and drove it to Wetherill Mesa, which was 12 miles. It was early in the morning and quite cold. Once there we hiked the Step House Trail, which was a mile, but it was a steep half mile down to the Step House, where we did a self-guided tour. We picked up a booklet, which explained different points of interest to look at. We climbed a short ladder and looked at different parts of the Step House. It was a nice tour. Then we had to climb back up the half mile. Once on top we hiked the gravel trail to the Badger Community, which was a 2.25 mile loop. We walked through four metal building, each building explained 600 years of the Pueblo history. The buildings had ruins in them and signs that talked about the ruin. As we walked the paved road we saw some wild horses. We had a nice time. The ride on the motorcycle was very beautiful and it was on a curvy mountain road. When we got back to the Minnie we loaded the motorcycle back on it's carrier.
Fire pit at Step House
More rooms of the Step House
Badger House Community
One of the rooms in the Badger House
A couple of wild horses near Badger House
Another wild horse
Prater Ridge Trail
The trailhead for our last hike was near the campground. We hiked 6 miles for three and a half hours. The trail was called Prater Ridge, it was a very strenuous hike. We had to climb up the mountainside for 1.4 miles and 675 feet in elevation to the top. Then we hiked .25 mile to where there were two loops, the south loop was for 2.4 miles and the north loop for 3.4 miles. We did the 2.4 mile loop. The trail took us along the mesa edge and through some trees. The views were beautiful. As we hiked we stopped occasionally to enjoy the views. The day before on our drive back to the campground Larry thought he saw some horses in one of the nearby canyons. There was a place on the trail where we could see into the canyon so we stopped and looked, we saw some movement in the meadow so we got the binoculars out. We saw about 10 wild horses too far away for a picture. After walking the loop we headed back down the mountainside. We had a super hike even though we were exhausted.
Morefield Campground from the trail
Two of the evenings I hiked the Knife Ridge Trail, which was a 2 mile hike round trip. It was flat and easy. The trail took me up 65 feet in elevation and along the ridge of the canyon. It follows a section of the old park road. It had some beautiful views of the mountains. At the end of the trail if you were there to see the sunset it would be very nice. But I was too early both times. I had a great time hiking the trail.
We had a super time at Meas Verde National Park.
A view of the mountain from Knife Ridge Trail
Another mountain view from the Knife Ridge Trail
No comments:
Post a Comment
I would love to hear friendly comments on anything at all. Ruth