Just 3 more shots from Mesa Verde and then we're off to Little Molas Lake and our last stop of the trip.

 Cliff Palace

 Cliff Palace 2

 Cliff Palace tower

A few views of Cliff Palace

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And then a few more tomorrow, after that the last stop of the trip:  Little Molas Lake, CO. I think we might finish my digital shots by the end of the week.  I hope you've enjoyed my trip so far.  I've developed all but 2 of my b&w 35mm, but have yet to start developing the 120 (there's only about 5-6 of those, so it won't be too bad).  My one roll of 120 slide film should be ready for me when I get to the photo building today and hopefully I can drop off my one roll of color negative 120 film this friday.  Only then will all of the pictures be developed.  Now... I just have to print them :-/

Mesa Verde was our last puebloan stop and our second to last stop of the trip.  We had visited Chaco and Canyon de Chelley's ruins, but these topped the cake.  Why you ask?  Because we actually got to crawl inside!  And there were times where I literally mean crawl.  But mostly there were ladders to climb.  This is the entrance to balcony house and the shortest ladder I climbed while there. 

The wood sticking out is the actual remains of a balcony (hence the name of the ruins) and the inside of a kiva (a ceremonial space).  They were a bit fearless and would build almost to the edge of the coves. 
While here we learned that the ruins were used by pueblo people who originally lived on the mesa tops above, but eventually moved to these natural coves to build their dwellings.  Men would literally scale the mountain (like we had to to get out of the dwelling) and tend to the crops up above while the women stayed in the dwellings.  There are actual smoke stains on the ceilings from where they had fires in thier homes.  Men averaged between 5'2" adn 5'4" and women around 4'9".  Men lived longer than women, typically ranging around 35-40 (at this time they became the "story tellers" and quit working the fields) while the women's lifespan was only around 25.

The park was founded on a basis that it be open to the public and that the public be able to walk through the ruins.  They still allow people into the ruins, however to keep erosin to a minimum they only open certain houses up at certain times of the year.  And lastly, they are still finding more ruins in the Mesa Verde Park but the debate is whether to excavate them or leave them as they are to avoid anymore deterioration.

Coming soon, shots from Cliff Palace.  One of the largest dwellings in Mesa Verde.