Training Log Archive: Nadim

Mesa Verde National Park, near Cortez, CO. I had intended for Peggy, Max and I to visit this park on Tuesday, but got things mixed-up when scheduling hotel reservations. We first stopped by to view the Cliff Palace from above. After that we took the formal tour of Balcony House. There was lots of good exposure on the cliff faces when we climbed ladders. Squeezing through small openings in the interior was cool too. The tour was nice and informative. It had been about 15 years since I last came; the year that I did the Ride Across the Rockies, starting in Cortez. The guide's narrative had changed significantly in that earlier there was doubt that the Pueblo people were the original builders, and that they used to speculate the natives had built their homes there to be safe from more hostile neighbors. The current explanations, backed up by more archeological finds on the mesa, were that a thriving agrarian culture lived on the mountain top for centuries before moving on, and used the cliff dwellings for ceremonies.

Later in the day, having missed the opportunity to hang around in Durango, we drove north through beautiful country. We crossed the mountains and made a quick stop in Telluride; very much a Switzerland-like place in appearance. We eventually ended up late in the evening in Glenwood Springs, CO.