It’s Mesa Verde National Park exploration day! We had tickets for the 1130 am tour of “Cliff Palace”, the largest cliff dwelling in North America. It’s located at the very back of the park but thankfully our campground (Mesa Verde RV Resort) was right outside the entrance to the park which worked out great. It was a very pretty (and windy) 45 minute drive up into the mountains/plateaus and beside beautiful grasslands to get there. We were worried about the kids’ safety on this tour as there are steep uneven steps, “cliffs”, and 3 ladders that must be traversed to get in and out of the cliff dwelling. So obviously the kids had to stay in the hiking backpacks the whole time, no matter what… Well until the kids’ protesting beat us down 😊 We fought the good fight but Caleb’s whining eventually grew to wailing and at that point we worried about the experience of our fellow tour members. So mid-way through the tour (where it wasn’t as dangerous) we let them out of the backpacks and kept a REALLY close eye on them. Sadly it took away our ability to fully listen to the tour guide, but it was still an awesome tour! The kids stayed safe and Kenzie even climbed the big ladders to get out of the dwelling all by herself (with mommy spotting from below of course)! The cliff dwelling was really astounding and unique! An impressive 800 years old! I can’t believe people lived on the side of cliffs like this. They didn’t use ladders, they carved hand and foot holds in to the side of the rock face to climb in and out…what?!?!? It was fascinating to get a small glimpse into the life of the Ancestral Pueblo People and see how they lived and survived.
After the tour, we had lunch in the RV and then drove around the rest of the park while the kids napped. We saw some more cliff dwellings as we drove (there are apparently over 600 in the park!) and took in the beautiful views of the park. There was a lot more we wish we could’ve done in the park but we felt it would be best to give the kids their wish and go to the pool at the RV park.
Windy roads 
Ready to go! 
Cliff dwellings are scattered throughout this ravine, whoa! 
We’re going down… 
Now up to the cliff dwelling 
A cliff dwelling on the opposite side of the ravine 
Viewing the “Cliff Palace” from afar 
Who needs roofs, it’s built under the ledge of the ravine 
Fire place, furnace, oven, and more 
Very small door in one of the houses 
Don’t worry, Caleb is holding mommy’s hand 
Starting the trek out 
Kenzie did it! 
The view looking back after trekking out 
Beautiful grass fields 
Lots of wild flowers 
Gorgeous views 
Oh no, where are the kids?!? (Don’t worry, they’re napping) 
There’s always a helper to drive the RV 
Toys or weapons? 
Don’t make me squirt you…
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