Almost out of superlatives!

Posting on Thursday.... here's what we did yesterday....  It was only a two hour drive from Moab to Mesa Verde but it took us to yet another state!  We're in Colorado and have two and one half days to "do" three activities.  After settling Mr. Hobbs in his air conditioned home away from home, we headed back to Cortez (10 miles back) as we had read about their Native American Cultural Centre and wanted to see Native Americans dancing and also hear Sam Sandoval speak.  Believe it or not, Sam is one of the remaining 13 WWII Navajo Code Talkers.  Quite frail and a little difficult to understand, Sam took us on a journey through his upbringing in a Hogan on the plains through his initiation to the "non-reservation" work life in Las Vegas (when it was a hick town) then on to his military career.  Initially, he registered for the draft and when he showed up at his local selection board was refused "because I was a full-blooded Indian".  Undeterred, he met up with some Marines, was impressed by their lifestyle and attitude and was one of 600+ Navajo boys recruited to attend the Code Talker training program in California.  He told us that it was actually a white man who had been exposed to the Navajo language in a mission school who suggested to the US Government that the Navajo were perfect to create an unbreakable code and help the war effort.  It was an incredible experience hearing his tale and I gotta tell you, you could hear a pin drop during the whole hour.  He was captivating...

Waiting their turn

Lovely Dancer

We also stopped at the Mesa Verde National Park and got our tickets for our Ranger tour...

T'was a long and winding road to the top of Mesa Verde... but the sights were worth the climb...

Canyons View

Mesa Verde

We had read the literature yesterday and talked with the Ranger about our "abilities" or lack thereof and he recommended Cliff Palace as the best choice for us.  So here's the view from the top of the canyon looking down at the Palace...

Cliff Palace from Above

And this is just a bit of the downward trip...

I confess that I really did think about the fact that I would have to climb back up as we descended.  But the chance to see the palace up close and personal was too good to be true!  So I kept stepping down, down, down.

This is what we found!  3,000 to 5,000 year old Pueblo complete with apartments, kivas (like a living room or community room), storage areas, pottery shops.  Wow!  The masonry was so gorgeous...and so old...and so perfect...and don't they look like models?  Trust me - they're huge!

Turrets

Palace rooms

Hi-Rises!

And, inevitably, there was the exit sign.... an arrow pointing up, up, up.  Fortunately, it was a curved path and I couldn't see what was coming up...we had been warned about the 8' ladders...two of them... but are you kidding me ? # !!

Looking up

Looking back at narrow passageway I just climbed through!

Am I having fun yet????

Yep, that's me with the ultra tan face (and a little reddened from exhaustion).  Glad to say I made it and glad to say I did it!  The Ranger was right - it's definitely, indescribably fascinating and beautiful. Bye for now.... another adventure tomorrow!