Mesa Verde National Park

Do you like old stuff? Really old stuff? Old stuff amazingly preserved? Mesa Verde National Park has it all.

Ancestral Pueblo people lived and apparently thrived in this area for nearly 800 years until the late 1200s. They finally built their villages beneath huge, overhanging cliffs, using sandstone formed into rectangular blocks, many of them still on display for us to enjoy.

Discovered by local ranchers in the 1880s, archeologists have been trying to understand the lives of the people ever since. The people grew most of their food, beans, corn and squash, supplementing those items by hunting deer, rabbits and squirrels.

The 23-mile drive to the top of the mesa provides many majestic views of the surrounding landscape.

Yet another of our beautiful national parks well worth the visit! It is located just 35 miles west of Durango, Colorado.