My secret weapon: Durango to Cortez with Mesa Verde in Between

These icecreams were a very sweet treat after our visit to Mesa Verde. They come from a store called Stone Cold Creamery in Cortez. Decadent and just what was needed after an early rise today to make the trip from Durango to Mesa Verde.

We set out early so as not to miss our guided tour of the cliff dwellings. It takes a while to wend your way into the park and signposting is not very helpful. I suspect if you are later into the park you might be given a map and directions but knowing that it took over an hour to get to Cliff Palace from the entrance meant that we were there before the gate folk.

We are staying tonight in the Retro Inn in Cortez which is really cute - each room is themed on the year of the room number. So we are in Room 1977 and we have John Travolta on the wall as well as the BeeGees. Very colourful and lots of fun. The dining room is American 50's themed. Elvis sits out the front and doesn't mind old birds being over familiar with him.

Mesa Verde is set in another stunning bit of Colorado countryside. The park history can be seen at this link. We wound our way up to the top of the Mesa before finding the building sites, carved into canyon walls.

Dan is emerging from the narrow ladder exit. I've tried to capture the tightness of some of the paths into and around the Cliff Palace site that we toured today. Very beautiful and very awe-inspiring. Homes for Ancestral Puebloans - the imagination is needed to think about the hardships of their lives and respect for these ancient people who carved and bricked their way into rocks to create safe homes.

Chinks between the stones prevent the mortar oozing out while setting. Kivas (family spaces) were built up using rocks and mortar over a number of years to create this whole "palace".