Day 7: 6/8/24
Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Distance: 30-ish miles?

We wake at 7 am and head to the cliff dwelling viewing areas before the heat and the crowds. It makes for a perfect morning. Our first stop is Cliff Palace. When we get to the viewing platform, our eyes are immediately drawn to a carved out dwelling across the canyon. “Is that it?” Husband asks, prepared to be underwhelmed. “It’s hardly anything,” one of the children chirp.

I turn to my left and before me is the incredible sight that we came for – Cliff Palace, a pueblo dwelling in the canyon walls, the very existence of which seems impossible. “That’s because you’re looking the wrong direction.” I say, and everyone turns to see what I’ve been staring at. It’s enough to take your breath away, this incredible feat. How were such places built? How were such things *possible?* These dwellings are 1000 years old and older. It’s incredible to think how they were made, and how many Indigenous families must have climbed up and down those cliffs with nothing but ladders and hand and footholds? How many families spent hours and days together in these shared rooms, bonding over stories and work and time together?

We take a stop to check out The House of Many Windows, which we think sounds both like a mystical place and a horror movie — depends on who you ask within our party. The “windows” are actually doors, and only 4 of the original 15 are able to be seen today. Our next stop is Balcony House, which requires a 1.2 mile walk to view from afar. It’s early enough that we see next to no one along the partially-shaded trail. This hike is *much* better than yesterday’s. The Balcony House parking lot is located directly above Balcony House, leading to a lot of confusion among many of the tourists now behind us on their way to view the dwellings, but last night’s ranger talk included instructions on the best way to view some of the sites, so we were prepared.

Then we swing by the museum to see some artifacts once found inside the dwellings and to pick up stickers for the roof box. We’ve been slowly adding as we go and loving the accumulating adventure. Our final stop is a quick view from directly behind the museum — Spruce Tree House. A raven nest sits directly above Spruce Tree House, and the couple are home and keeping their young warm.

We head back to camp for showers, laundry, and internet. A trip to the local town for groceries while the sun is high and hot, then back to the tent for working on photos and art and for maybe (definitely) catching a nap before getting dinner and watching a deer in the meadow beside us.

We pass the evening playing Toasted or Roasted (a game we picked up at the Grand Canyon 9 years ago) and the Oregon Trail card game. Spoiler: Only one of us (Older Child) made it to Oregon. Younger Child died from a rattlesnake bite about 10% of the way into the game. Husband died of dysentery about 40% of the way through. And I died of dysentery 92% of the way into the game.

We laughed and laughed. And we’re really, really glad not to be on the *actual* Oregon Trail. I like our Subaru, thank you very much. It’s been a good trip so far. We may not live in cliff dwellings like the Indigenous people a thousand years ago, but this trip is a treasure for our close-knit family.