Mesa Verde gave us a totally different experience as we learned about the Ancestral Puebloans. Modern southwestern Native American tribes descended from these people. We took three tours which were very educational and entertaining, but physical. We walked ¼ mile into the Cliff Dwelling with five 8-10’ ladders, 151 rooms of approximately 6 by 8 feet, and then exiting via a 100 foot climb. Next we bravely went to the Balcony House, which is thought to be a ceremonial sight since it contains features which identify the summer solstice. This was the most physically challenging. You enter the dwelling by climbing a 32-foot ladder and exit by climbing 60 feet of ladder and cliff side. Next day, after resting, we toured the Long House, which consisted of 150 rooms, that had two 15’ ladders within the ruins and 120 foot elevation to exit. Although we were challenged physically, the tours were worth every ounce of effort. We learned about kivas, sipapus, and their culture. We also viewed many sights that exhibited other types of ancient dwellings.

Next we drove on to Montrose from which we first went to Ouray, know as “the Switzerland of America.” The Indians came to Ouray to get out of the heat and to bath in the healing waters of the hot springs, which they considered scared. Here we drove up Canyon Creek towards Yankee Boy Basin where the opening of the “Sound of Music” was made. We saw many unbelievable water falls due to the huge snowfall in Colorado. We did not make it as far as the Basin due to deteriorating roads. From here we drove on to Box Canyon Park where you walked down to see the falls which are almost completely enclosed by rock. Again because of the snow melt, the falls were spectacular due to the volume of water traveling down the creek. Traveling on we went up the million dollar highway to Bear Creek Falls – another spectacular view. We returned to Ouray to tour the historic town.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison was our next stop. The Canyon is an awesome sight because it is so uncharacteristic for the area. It is 48 miles long and not more than 1750 feet wide and in some places is 2700 feet deep.

Telluride, our next stop, was a mining town that has since been discovered and is now an upscale ski area and cultural event center. Back in 1889, Butch Cassidy robbed his first bank here, which is now a Stetson haberdashery. Due to the gas prices, Jack found us a ranch to buy. It consists of 3100 acres, 77,000 square feet of living and recreational space for small a mere $88,000,000. We are taking donations!

We tried to drive to Bridal Veil Falls, a 330 foot twin waterfall, but could not get up to the bottom of the falls due to the road conditions. The view was still spectacular. We rode the gondola up to Mountain Village and back, overlooking the ski area and many gorgeous homes. Next we walked thru historic downtown viewing many numerous original buildings with quaint expensive shops.

Grand Canyon is an unbelievable picturesque natural wonder of the world. Neither words nor pictures can accurately describe what you see when you walk up and view the magnificent viewpoint overlooking the Grand Canyon. We took the shuttle to the end of Hermits Rest Route which is the East Rim and slowly walked back, stopping at every view point along the way. To add to our experience we also saw a condor, one of the larges birds in the Western Hemisphere, sitting on one of the Canyon’s edges. Back on a shuttle bus, we stop at various designations on the South Rim or what they call the Village Route. Every viewpoint gave you another breathtaking view of the canyon. Then we drove out to the West Entrance of the South Rim, again stopping at various points and ended at the Desert View area. At the Desert View is a Watchtower that was built in 1932 and is a re-creation of the strange prehistoric towers found scattered over large areas of the Southwest. Today it is used as an observation stations and rest stop for Grand Canyon visitors. We stayed around for the sunset, and what an amazing view watching the sun set over the Grand Canyon. This will definitely be one of our favorite spots.
(Now for those who wonder, no we were not close to the glass walkway, about 250 miles away, and if we were, we would not have walked on it.)

Not the same as Grand Canyon, but Jerome is a very interesting place to visit. Jerome in its time was a booming copper mining town of about 15,000 people. But due to the up and down costs of copper, depressions and wars, Jerome’s mines closed in 1953 and soon became a Ghost town. However in the 60s and 70s, Jerome offered a haven for artists who renovated homes, opened shops and Jerome became the cultural city. There are so many neat shops to browse through, interesting places to eat like the Haunted Hamburger, and still many historic places to see like the old jail and pieces of mining equipment displayed around the town, or the Douglas Mansion at the State Park. While shopping we also were “fortunate” to see a tarantula on the sidewalk outside one of the shops. It was as big as Jack’s hand!!

Then you have to go to Sedona, now one of our favorite towns, with the natural red rock sculptures, greenery from the national forest and at this time of the year blooming cactus. Sedona is 4300 feet above sea level so it is not the desert area like Phoenix. There are many hiking trails, jeep trails, and shops to see. We took a 1 ½ hour jeep ride out Soldiers Trail. Now if I had understood just what I was getting myself into, I probably would never had gone. The jeep drove over rocky trails that at points you were sitting down but still standing up. Not sure I would have walked that trail and here we are driving on it. I felt like I was riding a bucking bronco, but have to admit it was great. On the ride we were told about the vegetation, saw the Apache’s Seven Pools, the various rock formations and an actual sink hole which they referred to Devil’s Kitchen. Guess I’d say I would do it again.

Also if in the area be sure to see Montezuma Castle, a 5-story, 20 room dwelling built by the Sinagua farmers in the 12th century. It stands in a cliff recessed about 100 feet above the valley. Although badly deteriorated, you could see part of the remains of 6 story, 45 room dwelling. Then for some mysterious reason, the Sinagua farmers left and still until this day, no one knows why they left. The dwellings were first assumed to have been built by the Aztec and therefore named Montezuma Castle. Down the road is the Montezuma Well which is a limestone sink formed long ago by the collapse of an immense underground cavern. Here you saw more Southern Sinagua dwellings built between 1125 and 1400 for about 150-200 people. Next we drove to see Tuzigot to see more of the Southern Sinagua village build between 1125 and 1400 AD. Here the village was not built on the side of a cliff but on a summit above the Verde Valley. The original pueblo was two stories high and had 77 ground floor rooms. They entered their rooms thru the roof tops. We actually got to walk thru one two story dwelling that was a part of the village.

Being in Arizona this time of year, we not only enjoyed the cactus flowering which is great, but also the heat. Time to move on as we head to Mesa Verde in Colorado.