Mesa Verde National Park Today

Above, a view of Cliff Palace. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Today was spent (for the most part) touring Mesa Verde National Park in the Four Corners region of southwestern Colorado. This was the fourth time I've visited the park.

The park is notable for cliff structures built by the Ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi), with Cliff Palace being the largest of the cliff dwellings. The Anasazi Indians populated the Four Corners region from around 1,500 B.C. to about the 13th Century. Some Anasazi pottery shards were found on my property a couple of years ago.

Above, your truly at Cliff Palace overlook. Photo by Mitch Geriminsky.

We started it by having breakfast at the snack bar at Morefield Campground in the park. Following that, we went into the store next door before heading out.

Above, Mitch Geriminsky at Cliff Palace overlook. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Naturally, as with all other national parks, a camera is essential equipment and I managed to make good use of mine during our tour.

Somce photos:

Anasazi Pottery Shards?

Above, pottery pieces found near the GOCO Beast Barn. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This evening, one of my neighbors told me that while walking on Barking Spider Road (with my permission, of course), she found two pieces of what she believes to be Anasazi Indian pottery.

Both pieces were on the ground a few feet west of the GOCO Beast Barn.

As I had to go there to flip on The Beast's holding tank heaters anyway, I took a look around and found the pieces.

I checked online and saw some examples of Anasazi pottery that looks exactly like these pieces.

Above, "Spruce Tree House" at Mesa Verde National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Anasazi Indians inhabited the Four Corners area and they are known for the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park.

From Encyclopedia.com:

Anasazi is a Navajo word meaning "ancient peoples." These early Native Americans settled throughout the canyon and mesa (flat-topped hill) country of the Southwest. Their culture had emerged in the Four Corners region (Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah) by a.d. 400. 

The Anasazi moved from subterranean dwellings (called pit-houses) and constructed aboveground masonry buildings, some with more than 1,200 rooms. Ruins at Mesa Verde (Colorado), Chaco Canyon (New Mexico), and Montezuma Castle (near Flagstaff, Arizona) are examples of distinctive Anasazi dwellings that were built into the sides of canyons and mesas. For this reason the Anasazi are commonly called Cliff Dwellers. 

The Anasazi, who also produced a distinctive pottery, were one of the three major cultures of Southwestern Indians. (The others were the Mogollon and the Hohokam.) People of the modern Pueblos of Arizona and New Mexico descended from different branches of the Anasazi. Among the Anasazi descendants are the Pueblo, Hopi, and Zuni American Indian tribes.