I finally got to see ruins!! We went to Mesa Verde national park where there are hundreds of ruins. The first Ancestral Puebloans settled in this area 1,400 years ago. They were known as Basketmakers. These people started as nomads and then settled in pit houses which were homes built of poles and mud. As years went on, they became cliff dwellers and built houses of stone inside the overhangs of cliffs. After 800 years they moved away due to drought and cold weather. Many of the tribes are descendants of the cliff dwellers.

We were able to see how their homes evolved from primitive pit houses to stone houses. We went on a tour of the Cliff Palace, one of the ruins. We walked through narrow paths and climbed ladders to get there and back. Unfortunately, we can't actually walk through the buildings, only the surrounding areas. We also drove around and saw many ruins from overview lookout spots.

When we got home, Shel fixed the heater which was making alot of noise last night. He took apart the couch to get to it and cleaned the mess that pests got into previously. Lucky for me, he does all that unmentionable stuff that I don't have to dwell on or think about.

Pit House - home to early dwellers	Kiva - ceremonial room and gathering places
Cliff Palace - see people in photo	Kiva always had fire to keep them warm
Exploring Cliff Palace	Ruins behind Shel
We saw hand and toe holes used for climbing rocks	Cliff dwellings on two levels - early double deckers!
Inside rooms - long and narrow - looked through window opening	Spruce Tree House - down in kiva
Shel climbing out of kiva through narrow opening	More ruins of Spruce Tree House
View of Spruce Tree House below	Almost like fall in new england!
Story told of sleeping Ute chief - from right to left outline of :head, folded arms and body lying down	Shel putting back couch after successfully completing yet another task