Stalking the Spruce House

Spruce House, Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS II USM, f/18, 1/800s, ISO: 1600

Hiking down to Spruce House exposes the cliff dwellings to a number of interesting views.  It's a short hike (about a mile) and not very difficult, but it's also not flat until you get to the Spruce House.  We toured three cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde.  Cliff Palace was the most impressive.  Balcony House was the most adventurous.  Spruce House was the most intimate and easily my favorite of the three in part because we weren't stuck in a guided tour group.

Visitors at Spruce House

Spruce House. Mesa Verde Narional Park, CO
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/10, 1/100s. ISO: 100

I think it's easier to imagine what life would have been like living in the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde with people in the pictures.  It gives the photos a sense of scale and movement.  I had conversations with most of the people in this picture.  The gentleman in green is my friend Jim.  We went to college together and have been friends ever since.  He's accompanied me on a few road trips recently, but now he's met a lady so I suspect it may be just me and Pongo for a while unless I can figure out a way to get my wife to accompany us.  She hates camping.

Spruce House

Spruce House. Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, ISO: 1600. f/13, 1/800s

A lot of restoration work has been done on the main attractions at Mesa Verde.  I use the word 'attractions' with all of the touristy vibe that goes with it.  Mesa Verde is the closest thing to Disneyland that I've encountered at a National Park.  Guided tours.  Lines.  Semi-fabricated attractions.  The cool thing about Spruce House is that it's condition is a lot closer to what it was when people lived in it than when it was first discovered, I'm sure.  Would we be better off seeing things in a more natural state, though?  I'm not sure I have an opinion one way or the other. it's just a question I've asked myself since visiting the park.

Balcony House

Balcony House, Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Canon PowerShot SD770 IS

Balcony House is a fun tour.  I was worried because there were a lot of warnings about the difficulty of this tour and I have some medical conditions that make certain physical activities painful and sometimes even impossible.  It was no big deal, though.  You need to be able to climb a thirty foot ladder and crawl through a fifteen foot (or so) tunnel on your hands and knees.  The scariest part they don't tell you about, which is scaling a steep stairway cut into the cliff side.  There's a chain-link fence to catch you if you fall, but things could easily go wrong.  That was the best part.

The Walls of Cliff Palace

Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Canon Powershot SD770 IS

This is one of my favorite shots from the Cliff Palace tour from this summer.  It's almost a shot of nothing, then again the wonkiness of the walls and steps are prominently on display.  There's not a straight line to be seen and I find that to be quite pleasing.  The lighting is a little drab because the sun was blocked out by the cliff, but that made for a pleasant touring experience.

Cliff Palace

Cliff Palace -- Mesa Verde National Park, CA
Canon Powershot SD770 IS

Short-horned Lizard

Short-horned Lizard -- Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, ISO:1600, f/5.6, 1/1250s

We met this cute little lizard at our campsite in Mesa Verde National Park.  He did a nice job of keeping the place clean of insects.  Well, at least until he took off for the evening, then the ants came out.