Mesa Verde Ntl Park - May 19, 2010

Mesa Verde Ntl Park - (5), originally uploaded by kimberzy.

I went to Mesa Verde National Park on a whim. It was only a few hours from where I had camped, so I thought, "what the heck?" (lol).

They were doing construction on the road, so the going was slow. I was still able to drive along the scenic loop and stop at the viewpoints, including this one.

Mesa Verde National Park was established as a national park on June 29, 1906. The park preserves many ancient cliff dwellings, pit houses, pueblos, masonry towers and farming structures of the ancient Puebloan people, who made Mesa Verde their home from about A.D. 550 to 1300. The cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde and some of the best preserved in North America.

I didn't have enough time to go up close to the cliff dwellings this time around, but you can see them quite well from the many viewpoints on the scenic loop drive.

Links to Check out:
NPS - Mesa Verde National Park
My Flickr Photo Album: Mesa Verde National Park